Konoha Kitty
by Tori the Hanyou
Summary: YYHxNar crossover! Konoha's got a new pet... and this is one hissy kitty. All she wants is to go home, but first, she's gotta reach the jounin level, and at the rate she's going... she won't be seeing her friends again for a while...
1. The New Girl

**Tori the Hanyou:** Ok everyone, hello, I know you haven't heard from me in some time, and some of my readers are probably pissed off that I still haven't updated any of my stories and have the audacity to write a new one… for a new anime, no less! 'le gasp' Yeah, my BFF got me into Naruto a couple of years ago; haven't put it down since… anywho, here's my newest story, Konoha Kitty. Enjoy!

**NOTE TO FLAMERS:** Yes, this story has an OC in it, it's Mary-Sue-ish and it's a combo of two very unlikely anime, but you know what? I'm gonna say it now: This story was **_not_** meant for your entertainment. I wrote it to help me put some WD-40 on my very badly rusted writing skills, and to give me my own little fantasy. It was at the urging of a friend that I even bothered to put this on FanFiction, otherwise it would have stayed on my hard drive, probably where it belonged. Now, this is the end of my author's notes, so don't complain to me if this story isn't to your liking; it wasn't meant for anyone else's eyes.

**SUMMARY:** It begins…

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 1: The New Girl**

"Ok, Tori, we're almost there," spoke the soft voice to the bouncing eight-year-old next to him.

"I can't believe it! I'm gonna get to see a real ninja village!" she squeaked happily.

The man walking next to her smiled at her excitement.

"Yes, Koenma knows the leader of this village, the Hokage, quite well. He asked me to have a private conference with him while we're here, so I'm going to be leaving you alone for a while.

Tori beamed up at him.

"That's ok, Kurama, I can take care of myself," she said proudly, ridiculously puffing out her chest to prove her point and almost falling over backwards.

Kurama chuckled, "What I meant was try not to cause any trouble. You seem to have a knack for it…"

"Hey, I _told_ you that itching powder was Yusuke's fault, NOT mine!"

"Of course…"

"What-"

"We're here," said Kurama, cutting her off.

Tori immediately dismissed the subject as she stared in awe. Large gates stood in front of her, covered by an arch reading: **_The Village Hidden in the Leaves_**. Fifty-foot walls surrounded the entire setting, and guards sat on the top, giving her quizzical looks.

"WHOOAA!" she cried. The whole thing was colossal! Huge! Ginormous! Her eight-year-old eyes could barely take it all in at once.

Kurama smiled at her shock and walked up to the doors, knocking.

A gruff voice answered him, "Who goes? State your name and business."

"It's Kurama and Tori Ayuka from the Spirit World," Kurama responded, keeping his tone sharp and businesslike despite his amusement at the expression on his companion's face.

"Yes, sir. The Lord Hokage requests you proceed to his office immediately."

"Of course."

The gates were dragged open by massive chains to allow the passage of the two visitors. Tori followed closely behind her friend as they headed through the village. Though she was extremely excited to be there, natural shyness seemed to have temporarily overridden it.

As she walked past the guard who'd spoken with Kurama, he gave her a small glare to tease her. Squeaking, she grabbed onto Kurama's arm, not letting go.

Another man approached her, a small bracelet clutched in his hand.

"Don't worry, miss," he said, "We just want to give you a pretty souvenir. We were told it was your first time to a ninja village, and we wanted to give you something to remember it by."

He gave her a warm smile, but Tori couldn't help but notice the long scar running across his nose bridge. Reluctantly, she held her hand out for the man to click the bracelet on.

"A perfect fit. Well, enjoy your visit!"

He walked away.

Kurama smiled down at Tori and kept going. He took a detour through a wooded area to a large playground, where numerous oddly-dressed children were playing.

Tori noticed several her age, and her shyness seemed to grow. She ducked behind Kurama, hoping to not be seen by them, but he stopped, noting them aloud.

"Look Tori, there are a lot of kids over there, why don't you play with them?" he asked, his tone growing extremely warm and friendly.

Tori looked up at him quizzically. The only times she heard him use that were when he was trying to make Hiei do something for him.

Unfortunately for her, her brain didn't quite add these facts together.

She simply shook her head and burrowed her face into his arm, her grip tightening.

She soon felt a light tap on her shoulder, and turned quickly to see a pair of large, blue-green eyes looking at her. She jumped and ran to the other side of Kurama, holding onto his other arm.

The owner of the eyes giggled.

"She's funny."

Tori recognized the laugh as a girl's, and poked her head around to look at her.

The girl had short, pink hair tied back with a red ribbon, and her forehead seemed to take up a good amount of her face.

Tori had learned the hard way about commenting on people's faces, though, and she didn't say anything about it.

The girl came over and smiled again.

"What's your name?"

"T-Tori…" she stammered.

"Tori, is it? I'm Sakura," she said proudly. Tori figured the girl had a reason to be proud. Sakura was a pretty name.

"N-Nice to meet you…"

Sakura nodded, "Hey, you wanna come play with us? Ino and Shikamaru are picking teams for hide-and-seek over there," she said, pointing across the playground to where a large number of kids had accumulated, shouting urges for one captain to choose them for his or her team.

"Ino? Shikamaru?" Tori asked.

"Friends of mine," explained Sakura, "They're really nice, come on!"

"Uhm…" Tori looked up uncertainly at Kurama.

He smiled and nodded, "I have to go speak with Lord Hokage," he said, "I'll be back to pick you up when it's time to leave."

Tori gave him a fearful look, but Sakura pried her hand off his arm, "Come on!"

Kurama waved as Tori was tugged across the playground before he disappeared.

"Hey, guys!" called Sakura as she pulled Tori towards the group, "I found us a new teammate!"

The children went silent, turning to look at her.

"Say hi!" said Sakura cheerfully.

"Hi… everyone…" said Tori, feeling extremely awkward.

"She's got weird clothes," said a boy wolfing down a candy bar.

"Shut up, Food Boy, that wasn't nice!" barked a girl with blonde hair.

"Ino said a bad word!" called the candy bar kid.

"I did not! You were being mean!"

She turned towards Tori, "I'm sorry about him, he's not usually this immature. He's normally got too much food stuffed in his fat face to say anything!" She glared at him.

"For the last time, it's pleasingly plump! My mom says I'm pleasingly plump!"

"Is she the only one?" sneered a kid dressed in a jacket lined with animal fur. Two stripes ran down his face, giving him a wolfish appearance.

"Cut it out, Kiba! Leave Chouji alone!" snapped a boy with his hair in a ponytail.

"Shikamaru's right, can we just play this dumb game? My mom's getting dinner ready," said a boy wearing odd sunglasses.

"Thank you, Shino," said the blonde girl. She looked at Tori and held out her hand, "By the way, I'm Ino Yamanaka."

"T-Tori Ayuka…" she said, a bit bewildered by the strange crowd.

"So, shall we get started?" asked Ino, turning to look around at the group.

"Yeah!" came the unified cheer.

"Hold on, whose team is Tori gonna be on?" asked Sakura.

"She can be on mine," said Ino, "We need more girls."

Tori gave a small smile, "Ok, thanks."

Sakura took her hand, and they followed Ino's team to the other end of the playground.

Suddenly, a loud voiced boomed over the playground.

"ATTENTION, FELLOW NINJA OF KONOHA!"

Sakura whirled around, as did all the other kids.

Tori looked up to see a boy dressed in a black shirt and khaki shorts with blonde spiky hair standing atop the slide. A big smile adorned his face, and she couldn't help but notice three whisker-like stripes on each of his cheeks.

Sakura glared, "What's that idiot up to now?"

"Naruto, what the heck do you think you're doing?" called Kiba.

The boy gave him a sneering smirk.

"Something you wouldn't dare do in your wildest dreams!"

And with that, he zipped down the slide in a surfing position, leaping off the end onto the swings, the momentum propelling him back and forth, higher and higher, until he flew off at the very top, soaring over the grass and into the nearby river.

He swam back and stood up in the shallow water, taking a bow, "TA DAA!"

A bunch of the kids had burst out laughing at his sodden appearance.

"He's such a loser!"

"I can't believe he thought that was cool!"

"Yeah, I could do that in my sleep!"

Tori wasn't laughing, or in awe. She watched the big grin on the boy's face slowly turn into a frown as he realized he wasn't getting the reaction he'd been hoping for. Slowly, he climbed out of the water and sat down on the grass, taking his shoes off to dump the water out and squeeze out his socks.

He wasn't crying, but his expression had indeed grown very solemn. Tori was a bit impressed by that. She'd have been crying from embarrassment at that point.

Sakura tugged on her hand. "Let's go, he's not worth the time."

"Uhm, Sakura? Who is that?" Tori asked as they continued walking.

"Naruto Uzumaki, the Village Idiot, my mom calls him," she said, "She says don't even think about getting mixed up with him. She won't tell me why, though it's kinda easy to see he's a big loser. It might rub off on me, so my mom was smart to tell me to stay away from him."

Tori looked back at her, "Is that why you guys haven't asked him to play?"

"You got it; he'd probably pull something stupid and ruin the whole game for us."

Tori gazed at the ground. The poor guy; she didn't know many people who deserved treatment like that.

Her desire to fit in overrode the emotion, though, and soon she was playing hide-and-seek happily, the boy quickly leaving her memory.

It was her team's turn to hide, and she darted over to the farthest edge of the playground, diving into the bushes.

She peeped through the openings for any signs that she'd be discovered, the silence starting to press in around her. The count had ended, and Shikamaru's team was trying to remain quiet to sneak up on the members of Team Ino.

She was still a little heated from the dash, so her panting covered up any small sounds nearby.

Suddenly, a voice spoke behind her.

"Your breathing's gonna give you away."

Her body froze, and her lungs prepared themselves for a scream, but the voice's owner seemed to know that was coming, and quickly clasped a hand over her mouth to prevent it.

Tori whirled her head around to meet a pair of dark, piercing eyes. Raven-colored hair framed the face of a boy she didn't recognize.

Feeling safe to release her, the boy removed his hand.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

"I don't feel inclined to tell you," he snapped. Tori jumped slightly.

"That was mean," she said.

The boy looked at her questioningly.

"I haven't seen you in our village before. Where'd you come from?"

Tori gave him a deep glare.

"I don't feel inclined to tell you," she mocked.

Had this guy not lashed out at her, she might have actually tried to be his friend. But nope, once someone was mean to her, it stuck for a long time.

In this case, it would last for a _very_ long time.

Suddenly, Tori realized that two voices were calling her.

"TORI! Come out now! They found everyone else! Where are you?"

"They're looking for you," said the boy.

Tori gave him another glare, "I can _see_ that!" she snapped.

She really didn't like this boy. In fact, she disliked him so much, she figured he deserved a good kick in the stomach. She threw her leg towards the designated area, when all it hit was air.

Confused, she suddenly realized he was right behind her.

"Wha… how'd you do that?"

"You're very slow, you know that?" he asked.

"That's not what Yusuke said!"

"I don't care what Yusuke said, I don't even know him; therefore, I can't base his opinion on anything important. Besides, if he calls you fast, he must be two kinds of stupid, because…"

Suddenly, the boy was flat on his back, and both of them rolled through the bushes, Tori snarling, "Don't you DARE call Yusuke stupid! Only **_I_** can call him that!"

She wanted to hurt this guy. She wanted to hurt him so badly. He didn't even know Yusuke! How dare he!

She felt the heat inside her swelling up, the familiar electric energy coursing through her bloodstream.

She felt herself being yanked off the boy by three pairs of arms, and both of her new friends were crouching next to the boy, fawning over him.

"Sasuke! Are you ok, sweetie? Did she hurt you?"

"Don't call him sweetie! It's ok, Sasuke, we'll make sure she doesn't do it again; she didn't know any better…"

"Didn't know any better? How could she have attacked him? That was cruel, Sakura, Sasuke didn't deserve that at all!"

"But, Tori's not like that…"

"You barely even know her!"

"I know, but…"

The boy had squirmed out from underneath the two girls and was marching towards Tori, who was restrained by Shino.

Shikamaru walked in between them, holding his hands out.

"Wait, Sasuke, she's new, leave her alone."

"It's not that," he snapped, glaring at her.

"You…" he started.

"I've got a name, dummy!"

"You wouldn't tell me what it was, remember?"

"Only 'cause you wouldn't tell me yours!"

"How could you have been too slow to even kick me one second, and then fast enough to tackle me? How'd you do that?"

Tori simply glared. The other kids had gone silent.

She didn't want to tell him about the sudden anger that had risen inside her. She'd had it for a year now, and she didn't know what it was. It seemed to possess her whenever she was angry, though. She guessed that was where the speed came from, but she wasn't ever going to tell this jerk.

She settled with the mockery instead.

"I don't feel inclined to tell you."

She had barely noticed that his glare had turned into a look of confusion and curiosity.

Shikamaru turned to her.

"I think it was your guys' turn to be it."

And so the game continued. Ino was a bit colder towards her now, but Sakura still attempted to be friendly.

"Who is that guy?" asked Tori.

"That's Sasuke Uchiha," said Sakura, almost in a dream-like state, "He's the cutest boy that ever lived."

Tori raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Lemme guess, you like him?" she asked.

Her question caused the recipient to turn beet red.

"Well… err… I…"

"Never mind…" said Tori.

She didn't like him at all. Looks couldn't win her over; this guy was a jerk to the bone.

They continued on with the game, but as Tori began her search for some of Shikamaru's team members, she heard a small thud behind her.

She turned to see Sasuke.

"What do YOU want?" she asked.

"When did your friend say he was coming to get you?" asked Sasuke.

Tori glared, "None of your business."

"Oh, ok then, so then you won't be worried when I tell you I saw him heading for the gate."

Tori froze.

"What? …You're lying. Kurama wouldn't leave me."

"Suit yourself, but if you want to make sure, I'd get a move on."

A panic arose in Tori's chest. It wasn't true; Kurama said he'd come back to get her… didn't he?

Sakura ran up to her.

"Oh… hi, Sasuke…" she said, giggling.

"Whatever…" Sasuke jumped over the bushes and left.

"What was that about?" asked Ino, marching up, "Were you flirting with my Sasuke?"

"She hates him, Ino," Sakura said.

"He said… Kurama was leaving…" said Tori, shaking a bit.

"What? But he said he'd come back…"

"I know… but… I gotta go check! Bye!"

Panic-stricken, Tori bolted from the playground, racing back along the pathway and down the main street towards the closing gates.

"WAIT!" she screamed. She saw Kurama's red hair through the door as it was closing, and she ducked under the oncoming guards, squeezing through the door.

"KURA-"

Her call was cut short as searing pain shot up her arm, and she was jerked backwards. She looked back to see the bracelet sparking, held back by some invisible force, and she pulled and pulled, but couldn't get her arm free.

"Kurama! Don't leave me here!" she cried, reaching out with her free arm towards him.

He didn't even turn around.

"KURAMA!"

She was jumping around, twisting ferociously, struggling with all her might to get free. She looked back; Kurama was almost out of sight.

"COME BACK!" she cried, tears forming in her eyes. Why was he leaving her? Why couldn't she get to him?

"DON'T LEAVE ME!"

She sank to her knees, crying as he disappeared completely from sight…

"Wait…"


	2. Let Me Go!

**SUMMARY: **This girl's not happy she's been separated from her friends. Why has this been brought upon her?

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 2: Let Me Go!**

Tori continued watching even after he was gone, hoping beyond hope that he'd turn around and tell her he was only kidding.

Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her wrist and pull her back behind the barrier that bound her by her bracelet. The large doors closed completely.

"Well… I guess you're going to want some explaining, huh?" asked the man with the scar on his nose.

Tori didn't hear him. Blood began pounding in her ears as her heart rate increased greatly. The heat swelled to twice the intensity of what she'd felt before. A voice had appeared, whispering, _It's all their fault; they're trying to keep you away from Kurama… from Yusuke… from all of your friends… we must attack them to escape…_

Tori nodded slowly. It was right.

A crazed look entered her eyes.

"It's your fault…" she murmured, slowly rising to her feet. "I'll go back to Kurama… even if I have to kill every one of you to do it…"

The man had stopped talking, and a stern look appeared on his face.

Tori barely noticed that Sakura had followed her to the gate, and was watching with interest.

Tori felt her hand twitch slightly as the muscles in it tensed. Everything was tensing up. This man had put the bracelet on her; he'd be first to die.

With a roar like a jaguar, she bolted towards him, unaware that someone was coming up behind her…

"LEAVE MY SENSEI ALONE!" he yelled, tackling Tori to the ground.

"NARUTO! STOP!" yelled the man, running over to pry him off. Tori had twisted around and was viciously trying to bite the boy's arm off, with little luck. The man got hold of him and yanked him off of her, shoving him out of the way.

"Stay out of this, Naruto!" he said sharply.

"But Iruka-sensei…"

"No buts! Get out of here now!"

Tori clambered to her feet and pounced at the man, snarling. He easily dodged her and clothes lined her with his arm. She fell flat on her back, the wind knocked out of her.

One of the other guards snatched up her arms, locking them behind her back. Her small frame couldn't pry itself free from the larger man.

Her panic level rose even more.

Fangs had started growing in her mouth, and she stood, shaking uncontrollably.

The man approached her slowly, "Miss Ayuka, we know this is hard, but…"

Suddenly, Tori let loose a small explosion of electrical chakra, her scream blending with the catlike roar. She thrashed around, struggling to get the man off. She twisted around, trying to sink her teeth into the guard's arms, still jumping around crazily.

Iruka tried to get her to calm down, but to no avail.

"Miss Ayuka, please…"

The muscles in her hand twitched even more, and suddenly, a set of claws sprouted from it. Tori had no idea where they came from, but she was more than happy to set them on the guard's hands. He gave a yelp of surprise and released her, blood flowing from his fingers.

Free, Tori turned and bolted into the wooded area, not noticing that none of the guards had followed her.

Iruka sighed.

"Don't bother; we'll have to send someone else in to talk to her after she's calmed down a bit," he said, "She's no threat, but we're in charge of her at Prince Koenma's orders, and we've got to be very careful with her."

He turned and looked at Sakura and Naruto.

"And if any of you go after her, you're heading to the Hokage's office, got it?"

"Yes, Iruka-sensei," they chorused half-heartedly.

No one noticed the small raven-haired figure slip away from the clearing, puzzled and startled by what he'd seen.

Tori sat in the middle of a small clearing, huddled up, crying softly to herself. Hours passed, and it grew dark.

She didn't notice the other person nearby until he'd spoken, about three feet behind her.

"So, you're the troublemaker, are you?"

She whirled around to see a very tall man. His hair was a strange shade of silver, and all but his right eye was covered up by a large headband similar to the ones she'd seen before and a black face mask.

"Who are you?" she asked, raising her head to give him a deep glare.

"Well, I'd like to be friendly, but it's hard when you give me that kind of look," he said, causing her expression to falter, "My name is Kakashi… I think that's all you need to know for now."

Tori watched him curiously, "I'm Tori-"

"Yes, I know who you are," he said, "Tori Ayuka, age 8, blood type AB, doesn't have any parents or siblings, lives in Tokyo with a Yusuke Urameshi…"

Tori cocked her head at him, "How d'you know all that?" Her tears had stopped, but her face was still damp from them. As her tears stopped, so did the rain.

Kakashi didn't fail to notice, and continued answering her question,

"I'll tell you the honest truth… your friend left you here on purpose… but for a good reason," he hastened to add when he saw her tears well up again. A light drizzle had started up.

"What the heck could be a good enough reason to abandon a friend?" she cried.

"Try for your protection," said Kakashi, "Apparently, you're wanted in the Demon World."

"For what?" asked Tori, "What did I do?"

"It's not so much what you did… it's what something did to you."

Tori blinked, "Something?"

"When you were seven, a spirit was on the run from the ninja villages and demons who sought to possess its power. You might not remember exactly, but according to Prince Koenma, the spirit came to your house and infused itself into your body to mask its energies and hide them from its pursuers. My guess is it hopped worlds in an effort to throw off the chase."

"Wait… so you're saying… the big cat…"

"Was the spirit, yes. It's called a ligress, and it's what we call a biju, or one of nine spirits with different numbers of tails. The ligress just so happens to be number two, the two-tailed spirit. You, being her vessel, are what's called a Jinchuriki."

"But…"

"The demons that are after you cannot repossess the ligress's power now that it's inside your body, but they have been hired by someone who seeks, and probably has the ability, to extract it from you."

"Who?"

"I can't tell you right now, it's forbidden by our village, but hopefully, I've told you enough to get you to understand why you were left here."

Tori's head dropped again.

"I think so… but why can't I have been in Spirit World?"

"An average human is not meant to really live in Spirit World... there's nothing there but ghosts, anyways, it's no place for a human girl. You certainly couldn't stay in the Human World, either, you'd have no real protection there. Here, we are able to construct a barrier around the village that keeps the demons out, and our top-level ninja, the Anbu, will be able to fend off the ninja that would seek you out, though those in the local villages don't really know about you. We're hoping to keep it that way."

Tori nodded slowly.

"So… am I stuck here forever?"

"Fortunately for you, no. Prince Koenma has told us that when you become a jounin, an elite ninja, you will be able to leave the village and go home. He feels that you'll have enough skills by then to handle yourself."

Tori looked up.

"How do I do that?"

"Well, first you'll have to be taught in the Ninja Academy, of course, you'll have to take extra courses to catch you up with those in your age group, and once you graduate, you'll become a genin, a junior ninja. After some extensive training as a genin, you'll be allowed to take an exam that will graduate you to the chuunin level, or journeyman ninja. You must then train as a chuunin for several years before you're allowed to take the exam to be a jounin."

Tori's heart sank.

"In other words, it's gonna be a while, won't it?"

Kakashi nodded, "I'm a jounin, but it took me a lot of hard work and years of training to get where I am now."

Tori stood up.

"If that's what it takes, I'll do it. I'll train extra hard so that I can go back."

Kakashi nodded, "Ok then, shall we go? We must get you situated."

Tori looked up at him sternly, "But that doesn't mean I have to like it!"

Kakashi sighed, "No, it doesn't. Do what you want, feel about it however you choose. It doesn't affect me in any way."

Tori fell silent as they walked towards a tall building near the center of the village. Before Kakashi opened the door, she had one last question:

"Uhm… sir?"

He looked down.

"Hmm?"

"Will I… ever see you… again?"

His face showed no expression.

"Perhaps…"

He opened the door, and they went in.

"Iruka, I've got her."

The man with the scar turned around.

"Ah, thank goodness. I was getting worried."

Tori ducked behind Kakashi, and her small hand gripped the sleeve of his shirt.

Kakashi looked behind him, and she was shaking slightly.

"Aww, she likes you, Kakashi," said another voice Tori didn't recognize, "You always did get the girls in the Academy."

Kakashi didn't look at the owner.

"She probably saw you coming, Gai."

"Now, now," said Iruka, "I think it's about time we get this girl to her new residence." He walked over towards Kakashi, "You can go now."

Kakashi didn't move.

"Perhaps I should take her, Iruka," he said.

Iruka looked at him quizzically, "Why?"

"Not to sound rude, but she honestly doesn't seem to like you."

"Huh?"

"Look at her."

Iruka peered at the trembling girl behind Kakashi.

"I guess you're right. My first impression must not have been very good," he said, "Oh well. I suppose it's ok. Take her to the Harunos, and Gai will help you with her things."

Kakashi nodded, and as he did, he felt the small hand become two. He looked down to see both of Tori's hands clasping his arm, in a similar manner to how he'd seen her hold Kurama's arm as they walked through the village.

He decided to ignore it and turned, heading out the door, toting the eight-year-old behind him and blocking out the snide remarks Gai was making; a few of which involved the word 'pedophile'.

They soon arrived at the door of the Haruno residence, and Kakashi knocked.

A kind lady with familiar-looking pink hair opened the door. She smiled down at Tori, who hid behind Kakashi.

"Once again, Mrs. Haruno, it was nice of you to offer up your home, but you don't have to do this. We have a few rooms in the hospital…"

"Nonsense, I won't hear of a poor little girl living in such a place. Sakura's been nagging me and my husband for a sister, but I think this will make it easier." She giggled at her joke. "Thank you for bringing her over, but we'll take it from here."

She helped Gai put Tori's things upstairs in the spare bedroom, and Sakura came running into the kitchen.

"Yay! She's here!"

She took Tori by the hand and immediately began dragging her all over the house, showing her things like favorite hiding places, where the food was, including the cookie jar, and then her room.

"This is my room, and here are all my favorite toys…"

She showed Tori a pink toy chest full of dolls and teddy bears and such, but Tori's eyes were drawn to the little pink desk, where drawings and crayons were scattered everywhere.

She walked over to them and examined them, noticing several pictures of two stick figures holding hands, one with really long pink hair, and one with messy, scribbled black hair.

On other pictures were written the words, over and over again, 'Mrs. Sakura Uchiha.'

She turned around to look at Sakura, "What are these?"

Sakura squeaked, flushing red, and ran over to gather the papers up, "N-nothing! Don't mind those!"

Tori waited for her to store the papers safely in a desk drawer before looking at the floor.

"Hey, Sakura?"

Sakura looked at her, tinges of pink still on her face, "Yeah?"

"Wh-why… aren't you scared of me?"

From her past experience, Tori had always known people to suddenly keep their distance from her whenever she got angry, because that creature, the ligress thing, scared them away.

Sakura blinked, then smiled.

"Because I've got a feeling… woman's intuition, you know," she said, sounding important, "that you'd never hurt me. I'm your friend."

Tori looked up at her, and softly smiled back. That sounded logical enough. The ligress wouldn't hurt a friend, would it?

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So then, how about a pillow fight?" suggested Sakura, beaming.

Tori nodded, grabbing a cushion from a pile in the corner,

"Let's go."


	3. Four Years Later

**SUMMARY: **School life after… you guessed it… four years have passed, and Tori's not exactly everyone's favorite student…

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 3: Four Years Later**

_FOUR YEARS LATER…_

"Come on, Tori, we're gonna be late for school!" came Sakura's voice through the door.

Tori grumbled and rolled over, slapping the pillow over her head to block out Sakura's voice.

Suddenly, she heard the lock click and the door opened, revealing one dressed and slightly miffed kunoichi holding a shuriken.

"I'll give you to the count of three," she said.

Tori stuck her hand under her other pillow.

"One… two… THREE!"

Tori heard the shuriken whiz through the air, and she brought out a kunai, smacking the little star off course and nullifying the spin, sending it toppling harmlessly to the floor.

"I'm up, I'm up…" she said.

"Obviously! You could never have blocked that if you were really half-asleep," said Sakura.

"Then quit nagging me, I'm getting up."

She stumbled out of bed towards the closet, donning her favorite outfit: a black jumpsuit with unevenly-cut legs, and short sleeves. Her legs were bandaged, and underneath the jumpsuit she had a net top on, its sleeves extending down to attach to her middle fingers by rings. The legs of her jumpsuit were cut so that the left leg ended above the knee, while the right ended just below it. On her lower left leg, Tori placed a single leg warmer and buckled it tightly. She slipped on the usual ninja shoes and followed Sakura out the door.

"So, what did Iruka-sensei say we were working on today?" she asked, trudging along behind Sakura.

"Chakra channeling."

"Again?"

"Listen, just because you're not that good at it doesn't mean you've gotta be sour about it. I happen to enjoy it, personally."

Tori hadn't told Sakura about her ligress. The girl saw what happened at the gate and hadn't asked any further, to her relief, but the cat had a nasty habit of messing with Tori's chakra... though, to be honest, she couldn't tell them apart anymore. She had a hard time using her chakra at all, preferring taijutsu to accomplish her goals.

They came into the classroom, where Sakura immediately left Tori to go join the small group of girls that were giggling and playing the usual game that would let them decide who would sit next to Sasuke that day.

Tori rolled her eyes; the whole thing was ridiculous. She instead went and took her usual seat in the back corner, next to the window. Sakura was really the only person she ever truly talked to, but that was strictly outside class. In class, she became as indifferent as Shino or Sasuke.

She sat down, and was greeted with a very soft hello. She turned suddenly to notice a girl with short, black hair and strangely colored eyes with no pupils sitting next to her.

"Oh, hi Hinata," said Tori, "why aren't you…"

"I was… uhm… told I had to come sit over here today," she said, looking back at her former seat on the other side of the class. Kiba sat chatting with Shino, his new puppy, Akamaru, nestled in his jacket.

Tori glared at him.

"Don't worry, Hinata," she said, giving her a smile she usually only used around Sakura, "We'll have a lot more fun over here. You don't need to sit over there; let that jerk be what he is, and we'll be a lot better off."

Hinata smiled shyly, and nodded.

Tori looked down, and, to Sakura's apparent dismay, Ino had gotten the spot next to Sasuke. The other girls dispersed to their usual seats, Sakura being forced to take Ino's place next to Shikamaru.

Iruka walked in.

"Ok guys, I'm sure you remember what I said yesterday about today's class… can anyone… ah, yes, Sakura?"

"You said we'd be working on chakra channeling again, sensei," said Sakura proudly.

"Very good, Sakura," said Iruka, "Yes, we'll be continuing the art of chakra manipulation… oh no… has anyone seen Naruto? … Not that I need to ask…"

Ino stood up.

"Sensei, Naruto said something about flooding the bathrooms today," she said, "I can't believe he's going to be so immature as to-"

"Thank you, Ino," said Iruka, "I'll get him." He marched out the door. Ino beamed down at Sasuke, obviously hoping to receive some sort of praise or agreement with her comment. Sasuke didn't look at her, and remained silent, as always.

Tori couldn't help but laugh on the inside. To tell the truth, she figured anyone who would throw themselves at a guy like that deserved that kind of response, which was always the worst.

Noticing that her comment wasn't going to get noticed, Ino tried the usual routine of pulling her hair tie out and allowing her gorgeous blond hair to cascade over her shoulders.

"Oh dear, this hair," Tori heard her say, "I just can't seem to do a thing with it."

Sasuke still didn't move, or respond, or show any sign that he was going to respond.

'_Yeesh,'_ thought Tori, _'you'd think the girl would get a clue…'_ Not even Sakura would sink to that level.

The other girls were giving her envious looks, and Sakura looked about ready to explode. The only two females in the classroom that weren't affected were Tori and Hinata. Hinata looked worried.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Tori, looking over at her new desk mate.

"Naruto…" she said softly, "You don't think he's going to get in big trouble, do you?"

Tori blinked. Naruto?

"The way Iruka-sensei stormed out, I'd say he's in for it," said Tori. Hinata's look grew worse, and Tori quickly tried to recover, "Oh, but, I'm sure they won't throw him out of the school. Naruto's done worse and gotten off easy for it."

This seemed to make Hinata feel better, to Tori's relief. She gave Hinata a teasing smile.

"Why do you ask?"

Hinata went pink and shook her head.

"N-no reason…"

Tori shook her head. Too obvious, that situation was.

Shouts were heard, and the door slammed open, revealing Iruka dragging the class troublemaker in by the back of his orange jacket.

"…Can't _believe_ you'd actually do that! Are you TRYING to take the whole school down with your grades? This was lower than low, Naruto…"

He continued ranting as he dragged the kid to the center of the class before releasing him.

When he was done, he ordered Naruto back to his seat and turned to the rest of the students, fuming.

"Because of Naruto's little shenanigan, we will be having a pop quiz to teach all of you to pay more attention in class! Everyone, line up down the center aisle, and Naruto will go first to show us all what he learned in class yesterday." Iruka pulled a large box of light bulbs out from under his desk.

Grumbling, everyone stood up, giving Naruto death glares. If looks were knives, Naruto would've been a shish kebab right about now.

Tori and Hinata were able to get at the back of the line, due to the fact that they were already in the back of the room.

"Now pay attention, I want you all to do this…"

Grabbing a bulb, Iruka held it in his hand. Within seconds, the bulb was lit brightly, shining as if powered by a lamp.

"Use your chakra to energize the bulb."

After a few seconds, he let it go out.

"Now, Naruto, go!" He stuffed a bulb into the boy's hand.

While Naruto was struggling with his chakra focus, Tori couldn't help but feel her nose start to tingle.

She wondered what to do. She didn't want to fail the quiz, but her chakra control wasn't any better that it'd been yesterday.

Iruka shook his head as Naruto failed to get the bulb lit barely more than a tiny spark, writing his score down.

Tori soon realized that the fur on Kiba's jacket collar was what was irritating her nose. It was agonizing. She needed to sneeze, but she couldn't.

The line continued down like this, and all too soon, it was Tori's turn. Iruka handed her a bulb.

Tori looked at it miserably, closing her eyes and trying to focus the chakra into the bulb. Most of the class was sitting down now, watching her, making it all the harder. Her chakra was in turmoil, as usual, and she could barely get it to go where she wanted, up through her arms and into the bulb. She managed to flash it, but she couldn't sustain it.

All of a sudden, that sneeze decided to finally come out. Tori had tried to move the mass of chakra in her body when she felt her breath automatically coming in, and couldn't stop it…

"AACHOO!"

With the sneeze came something dreadful. The wad of electrical chakra she'd been trying to channel suddenly burst through her arm all at once. The bulb flashed blindingly for two seconds before it literally exploded, shards of glass going everywhere.

There'd apparently been more than that though, as the chakra then electrically arced from the open conduit of the burst bulb over into the nearest wall socket. The lights in the building surged violently, causing many screams around the building, and eventually went out.

Tori dropped the bulb base quickly as the chakra had heated it up, trembling and not daring to look up.

Not a sound was made in her classroom, and she knew all eyes were on her.

"Tori... are you all right?" asked Iruka. He knew what the source had been, but she knew nobody else would.

She wasn't all right... not by a long shot. She couldn't speak, either.

Iruka sighed and heard the teachers filing their students out of the classrooms. He'd have some explaining to do.

Somebody stood up quickly behind Tori.

"Are you done standing up there being an attention-seeking show-off?" Tori recognized Naruto's voice, and her heart sank.

Iruka's eyes widened at Naruto's outburst. He was used to this kind of behavior towards Sasuke… but Tori?

Tori didn't move. She wanted to just go back to her seat, but she didn't know if it was the chakra or the humiliation holding her in place more.

"Naruto, that wasn't nice!" snapped Sakura.

"She's right, Naruto, now apologize to Tori," said Iruka.

"I got nothin' to apologize for!"

"Then I'm going to have to drop the D you got on this quiz to an F for poor class behavior."

"Do it, it won't change my opinion. All she's ever done since she got here is sit there in the back, giving everyone these moody looks. She should just keep that kinda crap to herself!"

"Naruto, that isn't true! The show-off is your job!" called one of the other students, laughing at his own remark.

"Maybe that's why he's angry. He's not only been bested at life, but now he's even been topped at what he does best… being the _attention-seeking show off_!" said Kiba, sneering.

"Kiba, stop it this instant! Naruto, sit down! Both of you are getting detention for this, now not another word out of either of you!"

Tori finally managed to turn around, wrenching her feet away from their root on the floor as she headed back up the all-too-long walkway to her seat.

Naruto glared at her as she passed.

"Yeah, just ignore me and keep walking! Just like your little boyfriend did when he dropped you on our doorstep!"

Tori froze.

"NARUTO! OUT OF THIS ROOM, NOW! YOU'RE GOING TO SEE LORD HOKAGE!" yelled Iruka.

Naruto sniffed angrily.

"I don't care, I've said my piece."

He stood up, readying himself for the long walk over to the Hokage's office, preparing his mind for several daydreams he could have while he was being lectured… once again.

Tori stood there, trembling. That had hurt. That had really hurt. She had to leave... she knew what was coming. She turned and left the classroom, ignoring Iruka's commands to stop.

The chakra was angrily bubbling inside her as she hurried down the hallways, darting around the classes that were being filed out of the building due to the loss of power.

'He needs to pay...'

No... Tori shook the thought out of her head. Angry thoughts like that never ended well. She came outside the building through the side exit, realizing with horror that she'd followed Naruto. She could see the orange figure heading up the path to the Hokage's building. The chakra raged at the sight of the person who'd caused her pain.

'NO! STOP...!'

A storm welled up from the already-overcast sky they had. Tori knew where it would aim and she grabbed her arms, gritting her teeth, trying to stifle the chakra before it could hurt him. The storm kept coming. Instead of Naruto, Tori quickly focused on a tree farther away, channeling her entire thought process onto it.

'Hit that, hit that, hit that, hit that!' she chanted to herself, moving out of line of sight of the boy as a massive lightning bolt came down, cracking and destroying the tree.

With relief, she saw Naruto jump, looking at the tree, then the sky, and hurrying along to the Hokage's office.

Panting from the effort of redirecting the surge, Tori fell to her knees, taking a moment to breathe as a light rain began to fall.


	4. School Life

**SUMMARY: **The grad exam is looming over the students of the graduating class at the Ninja Academy. Will tension run rampant, or will everyone just go crazy?

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 4: School Life**

Tori had never felt more miserable in her life than when she was walking through the rain that day.

The ligress had done it again; it had completely fucked up her life. She'd blown the school's electrical circuit, gotten insulted by a classmate, tried to kill him, failed her quiz, and everyone probably hated her now. Could life get any worse?

"Tori!"

Ohh yeah… it could…

She turned around to see Sasuke, feeling all remorse vanish. Her anger returned.

"What do _you_ want?" she snarled. After all the crap she'd been through today, she wasn't about to try to deal with him.

"What's with all the hostility? What did I ever do to you?" he asked.

"Let's see… they say first impressions are the longest lasting. Yours just so happened to leave a very distinct impression on me that I don't feel like getting over."

"So you're one who enjoys holding grudges," he said.

"Never said I enjoyed it… but yes, I seem to be quite good at it. Now leave me alone before I perform some surgery on your face and turn it into Frankenstein's… without using any anesthetics."

"Just try it, I'm shaking as we speak," said Sasuke, a small smirk appearing on his face.

Tori gave him an exasperated look.

"What IS it with you? Can't you feel the 'leave me alone' vibe? You give it off all the time, but I never…"

"Doesn't work very well, does it?" he asked.

"That's YOUR problem, pretty boy, NOT mine."

"Tell me," said Sasuke, changing the subject, "How is it that you generated so much power that you short-circuited the entire school today, when you couldn't even get your bulb to make a spark yesterday?"

"What's it to you? Shouldn't you be getting back to class and making straight A's, you teacher's pet? Get lost!" Tori snapped, marching around him.

Sasuke glared, and grabbed her arm, "What's with you?" he asked.

Tori raised an eyebrow, still with the annoyed look on her face, "What the hell are you talking about? Let go of me, or I'll bite your hand off! Don't think I won't!"

Sasuke obtained the look of someone who'd said something they hadn't meant to. He released her arm, practically throwing it away. "Forget it…" He turned and went back to the school.

Tori glared after him, and waited for him to get inside before rubbing her arm. MAN, that kid had a steel grip! There'd be bruising there, no doubt.

She continued off into the rain, heading into the trees towards her favorite little hideaway, a small pond surrounded by dense forest. It was a good spot for her to come when the kids in her class drove her too crazy.

She sighed and leaned back against her favorite tree, which had a nice situation of roots that seemed to encircle her when she sat among them. She felt safe and secure there, more so than when she was at Sakura's house.

She slid to the ground, looking up through the branches. The rain had dispersed, and sunlight was beaming through the clouds in beautiful rays. One of these rays landed on the little pond, making the water glisten. Another sigh escaped Tori's lips. This was her oasis, her getaway from the world.

She closed her eyes, listening to the lulling rustle of the leaves.

This was her little space… where no one could invade on her thoughts.

**_Two months later…_**

"Come on, Tori! It's review day!" yelled Sakura, banging on the door. Tori groaned. Only Sakura would be excited about that. She didn't wanna go anywhere near that school. All the kids treated her like a bomb that could go off at any second ever since the surge incident... except Hinata, to Tori's shock. The girl had come in the next day and given Tori a smile like nothing was wrong. If anyone could call that friendship... Tori could.

She rolled out of bed to prevent Sakura from barging in on her usual rampage and hurried to get dressed. Whenever the girl came in, it was usually brandishing some sort of dangerous weapon, and she didn't feel like dealing with that today.

She opened the door, and was thankful she did. Sakura had run to get the coat hanger and was holding it like a giant club.

"Oh! There you are!" she said, dropping it on the floor with a thud, "Ready? Let's go!"

She grabbed Tori's hand and dragged her out the door.

"But… what about breakfast?"

"Here."

Sakura stuffed a piece of toast in Tori's mouth.

"Viff vurff…" Tori mumbled.

They arrived at school 'in record time', to put it in Sakura's words. As usual, they entered the classroom, and separated. They didn't know why, and they never spoke about it, but Tori found it fairly nice and convenient. She and Hinata were great desk mates, and Sakura wasn't nagging her in the middle of the day, too. Also, she didn't have to put up with that incessant giggling and blushing that usually went on when Sakura looked at Sasuke.

Honestly, Tori didn't know how the girl did it. Sakura could sit and stare at Sasuke with big goo-goo doll eyes the whole year and still make straight A's.

Oh, well… it wasn't her business.

Iruka walked in, picking up his clipboard to take attendance.

"Ok… let's see… here… here… here… absent… too bad… here… hold it…"

He glared at the clipboard as though it had highly offended him.

"WHERE IS NARUTO?" he yelled. Now, Tori could understand his grief. This was the twelfth time in a row Naruto had had to be dragged into class because he was off pulling some stupid prank on an unsuspecting victim.

Tori tried not to bear any ill will towards the kid for his nasty remark, but it stung, badly. She hadn't responded to it, trying to remain the bigger person, but it didn't stop the ligress from internally snarling whenever the kid came in the room.

She put her head down for a snooze, not noticing as the door flew open, and another teacher from two years below them leaned against the door, panting hard.

"Iruka-sensei! It's Naruto! He's putting graffiti on the Hokages' faces!"

Iruka nearly lost it.

"WHAATT? THAT KID IS SO BUSTED!"

He tore out the door, the other teacher wearily in tow.

Unfortunately for him, he'd forgotten about his other students.

"Come on! Let's go watch!" announced Ino happily, "Naruto's gonna get the shit beaten out of him for this!"

The other kids followed her out the door, all but two.

Hinata nudged Tori, "Tori, uhm, shouldn't we go help Naruto?"

Tori didn't answer, her breathing had become deep and even. Hinata examined the girl's eyelids. Darkness and heaviness seemed to be on them, and she smiled softly.

"That's ok, Tori, I'll go see if I can help him. You sleep."

She stood up and walked out the door, trying to formulate a plan.

Yeah, she'd needed some good sleep for a while. Tori had been pulling late nights with her training, or sometimes it wasn't even training. She'd simply walk around her room, unable to sleep.

She didn't hear the footsteps until a hard shake on her shoulder forced her from her reverie.

"The hell is it?" she grumbled.

"I'd thought you of all people would want to watch Naruto get yelled at."

Tori snapped her eyelids open and looked around. Surely enough, no one was there but her and…

She turned around.

"Wait a minute, why the hell d'you care?" she snapped at Sasuke.

His expression didn't change.

"You should be more careful about choosing your nap spots…" he said softly, "You don't know who might be wandering by, listening to you sleep talk."

He walked out the door.

Tori yelled after him,

"Stop trying to be so cool!"

Her head dropped on the desk, but she dragged herself to her feet. "God damn him… what is this, a frickin' soap opera…"

She trudged out the door, still yawning. She figured she could head to her spot and finish her catnap there, but she didn't wanna get in trouble for skipping class.

She wondered where everyone had gone. Obviously, it was only her class that had disappeared; she could hear voices inside the doors as she passed.

She stepped outside into the warm sunshine and immediately reconsidered her decision to just go and sleep, but she kept on, trying to follow the scent of her classmates without nodding off as she walked. The ligress's presence may have made her social life a little less endurable, but it had enhanced her senses like nobody's business.

It was around fifteen minutes later that the entirety of Sasuke's sentence set in. Tori's eyes widened.

"Wait… he mentioned sleep talking, didn't he? AW, CRAP!"

She'd probably said some really personal stuff! Or maybe she'd given something away! _'Crud, crud, crud!'_ she thought.

She heard voices up ahead, one of them being Iruka's angry ranting,

"I don't care WHAT you were thinking, the whole idea was completely stupid and idiotic… and I can't believe you guys actually left class! What were _you_ thinking?"

Tori paled and instinctively ran off the road into the forest, cutting around behind the group and blending in with Hinata near the back.

"Oh, Tori! Did you sleep well?" asked Hinata, smiling kindly.

"Oh… eh… yeah, I guess."

"Oh, that's great! You looked really tired; I thought you probably needed it, too."

Tori couldn't help but smile warmly. Hinata had been worried about her; that was why she hadn't woken her. Of course, she would've preferred Hinata to Sasuke, but… it was over.

"Thanks, I did," she said.

The pop quiz they received wasn't too bad; turning into Iruka wasn't that difficult. Tori managed to get by with a B, Sakura, of course, got an A.

Tori couldn't help but snigger a little bit when she saw Naruto suddenly turn into a naked girl with long blonde hair tied in pigtails. No ill will being borne... it'd been a funny joke. She had no idea the kid had something like that in his arsenal.

Iruka didn't seem to think so, but he could only voice his opinions after he'd flown backwards, catapulted by a massive nosebleed.

That night, she and Sakura stayed up critiquing each others doppelganger techniques. Sakura, of course, was actually doing all the critiquing; to her delight, Tori hadn't managed to find anything wrong with her three shadow clones.

"Ok, now, you need to position your hands more like this… ok, now try it again."

Tori called the jutsu, and felt the explosion of bodies of chakra leaving her at once.

"Oh, man…" said Sakura, shaking her head. Tori grimaced as she looked behind her. Only two clones stood there, their eyes expressionless, and their jaws hanging open.

"Wow… that's creepy…" said Tori.

"Tell me about it! Ok, you need to focus on your chakra and the amount you're producing. You got two this time, which was good, but they need to be lively! Try…"

Tori tried every hint Sakura gave her, but she ended up with always the same result.

The clock struck midnight.

"God damnit!" she said, "I just can't do it, Sakura!"

Sakura sighed heavily.

Tori frowned, "Thanks a lot for trying to help me, but you should go to sleep now. You'll want to look fresh for your graduation picture tomorrow."

"But Tori…"

"Just go… maybe if I do it by myself for a while, I can figure out my own method."

Sakura gave her a pained look, but turned and left.

Tori gritted her teeth, _'Aw, who am I kidding? I'll never be able to pull this off!'_

Glaring at the floor, she waited until Sakura's light had turned off before she turned off her own.

She quietly crept to the window and jumped out, landing on the tree branch nearby and scrambling to the ground. If there was one place she'd always been able to think clearly, it was her special spot.

She ran out into the forest, the moonlight lighting her way as she made her way to the glade. She knelt by the pool and splashed some water onto her face to wake herself up a bit more. She stood up and focused on her chakra.

_'Ok… manipulate energy into it… give it life…' _

The chakra separated from her body, and Tori turned around to see one clone standing behind her, giving her a stern look.

"Shit… now I can make them lively… but I can only make one."

She sent it away, sighing.

She pressed her fingers together, readying to try it again, when a voice came down from the branches above her.

"Hold on, you're not doing it right."

Tori jerked her head up, almost falling backwards.

She knew that voice, it was…

Hold on…

A flash of red blanked out her mind. She couldn't remember whose voice it was, the memory had been snatched away.

She looked up, trying to distinguish the face, but it was well-hidden.

"Don't mind who I am," said the owner. It was a guy, Tori knew that much, "I just want to help."

"I already got as much help as I could from my friend, and if she couldn't help me, I doubt very much that you can."

"You never know, great minds don't always think alike. Not everyone comes to the same conclusion in the same manner."

Tori frowned, "Ok then, fortune cookie, how d'you put it into perspective?"

"When it comes to doppelgangers, you should think of it as pieces of a pie, or chunks of chakra you've produced," said the voice, "Each one represents a doppelganger you want. Once you can sort that out, then you focus on fusing energy into each one. Just take your time; you won't be timed on this tomorrow."

Tori placed her fingers in position and focused her chakra.

"Don't forget, you'll need a lot of chakra for three bodies," said the voice.

Tori separated her chakra into three chunks, only leaving the necessary little to stay alive. She wanted to make sure she did this right.

"And then focus the energy into each of them individually before you release them."

She sent her energy into the three chunks. The middle of her body had become a factory of sorts, mixing the energy and chakra in these three containers.

"And… release."

As she did so, Tori felt a massive amount of energy leave her. She toppled to the ground, panting from the exertion. A figure dropped from the trees and propped her up.

"You ok?" it asked.

She nodded.

"Well good," said the voice, "because you should be pretty proud of yourself."

Tori looked where he was. Sure enough, three clones of herself stood in front of her, smirking with a sort of challenge gleaming in their eyes. She smiled to herself, trying to see her new sensei's face, but the darkness mixed with her blurring vision and obscured her view.

She slumped back against him and blacked out.


	5. Team 7

**SUMMARY: **The test is here! Who will pass or fail? And what will happen to a certain unlikely group of individuals thrown together to work as a team?

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 5: Team 7**

Tori awoke the next day before Sakura was even up. Was last night a dream? Had she really managed to accomplish the shadow clone jutsu? She'd find out today.

She scrambled out of bed and dressed hurriedly, running into Sakura's room and pouncing on the bed.

"Wake up! Our grad test is today!"

Sakura sat up like Tori had been a complete stranger.

"Whoa… who are you and what've you done with Tori?"

"Come on! Get dressed! I wanna practice!"

Sakura climbed out of bed as Tori ran downstairs.

When she came back up, she stuffed toast in Sakura's mouth and handed her a small carton of milk.

"There's your breakfast, let's go!"

Sakura's eye twitched as she pulled the toast out. "You really ARE an alien."

They hurried to the Ninja Academy, sitting in class, ready when Iruka walked in. Even Naruto was there on time.

"Ok, I'm going to call you guys alphabetically, and you will join me in the next room over, where two other teachers and I will be grading you on your ability to create three perfect shadow clones."

The list went down, but the students didn't come back, so no one knew who'd passed or failed.

Finally,

"Haruno, Sakura."

Sakura squeaked and got up eagerly, walking as calmly as she could into the next room.

And next came the moment…

"Ayuka, Tori."

Tori stood and walked carefully out of the room, her heart pounding. If she finished this, she'd be one-fourth of the way to getting out of this village and returning to Tokyo, Yusuke, and Kurama.

It was riding on this…

She entered the room, facing Iruka and two other teachers whose names she didn't know.

"Ok Tori, show us what you've got," said Iruka.

Tori clasped her hands together to attempt to control her trembling, and she took three slow breaths.

Concentrating, she turned her body into the factory again, focusing her chakra into three separate parts, still leaving the necessary amount to at least remain standing this time. Her energy was poured into them, and she waited as the energy and chakra blended before releasing.

When she opened her eyes, her knees were shaking from the effort of holding her, but as she looked up, Iruka and the other two teachers were smiling.

She looked behind her to see the three perfect clones that she'd made last night grinning at her. She'd done it!

Iruka stood up and picked up one of the several headbands lying on the table.

"Congratulations, Tori! You graduate!"

He held the headband out to her, and Tori smiled at him, for the first time in… ever.

Her three clones cheered and ran over, hugging her.

Iruka's eyes slightly widened. "Well, this is a surprise."

Tori blinked at him, "What?"

"These clones… they're not just illusions… they're real bodies."

Tori looked around at them. "Is that bad?"

"Not at all… you've actually exceeded what was expected of you. Next time, though, try watching your chakra; you look about ready to collapse. I think you just put too much into them is all."

Tori nodded and left the room, dispersing the clones.

She'd done it; her days at the Academy were through.

She tied the headband proudly around her head and walked outside to be greeted by a near-suffocation as Sakura gave her a hug. Mr. and Mrs. Haruno were there, and they too greeted Tori warmly.

"Oh, I knew you both could do it!" said Mrs. Haruno proudly.

More kids were emerging with headbands, glomped by proud parents and siblings, until the doors closed with a final congratulations speech by Iruka.

Tori smiled happily as her new headband flashed in the sun, and automatically grew attached to this new accessory. Yet, something troubled her.

She turned to look over as she heard murmurs.

"Yeah, did you hear? Naruto was the only one who didn't graduate."

"Serves him right."

"Imagine _him_ being a ninja…"

Tori's eyes flitted to the tree, where Naruto sat on the swing; the loneliest living being she'd ever seen.

_'Poor guy…'_ she thought.

"Come on, we're having a special dinner tonight!" said Mrs. Haruno, leading both girls away. Tori looked back in time to see Naruto get off the swing, running away into the trees.

The next day, Tori got up early again to eat a good breakfast. Today was the day; her first official day as a genin, a junior ninja.

Her effort to wake Sakura involved a banging on her door and an informative statement that she was leaving early.

She left the house and walked about, relishing in the cool air. This was nice; she figured she'd get up earlier from now on to enjoy it. The sky's purples and pinks streaked through the clouds, touched with gold by the rising sun.

A while later, she was sitting in the classroom, her new headband tied tightly around her forehead. She looked about as the last few kids were coming in, murmuring to each other:

"Yeah, did you hear what happened last night? That teacher, Mizuki, got attacked by something."

"What was it?"

"They dunno. They found him all beaten up and bloody. He wouldn't tell them who did it."

Tori didn't much care about their conversation. She was looking down a few rows near the front.

Naruto was sitting there, an official Konoha headband adorning his head, and a big grin on his face.

_'How did he…'_ thought Tori.

Before she could complete it, a commotion had started at the door.

She turned to see Sakura and Ino trying to both squeeze through the door at once. Somehow, they managed, and stood there panting as soon as they were through.

Tori looked away, deciding it'd be wise not to get into that.

Hinata came in and sat down next to her, her new Konoha headband tied loosely around her neck.

Tori looked down as Sakura suddenly ran towards the center desk, shoving Naruto roughly out of the way. Her face had turned pink, and Tori tuned her ears in to listen.

"Uhm… hi, Sasuke… mind if I sit here?" she asked.

There went the selection game out the window.

Sasuke didn't respond, as usual. Ino came up behind Sakura angrily.

"What the hell d'you think you're doing, Billboard Brow? I'M sitting next to Sasuke!" she said.

"You got to sit next to him more than any of us!" snapped another girl, "It's MY turn!"

Tori couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Sasuke at that point. The guy was constantly being swamped by rabid fangirls. Of course, much of this brought her great amusement, so the pity was quickly forgotten.

_'He should get himself a girlfriend,'_ she thought half-consciously, '_then maybe the others would leave him alone.'_

Suddenly, she noticed Naruto had gotten off the floor and had jumped up onto the desk in front of Sasuke, nose-to-nose with him.

"Oh, dear…" said Hinata, "What's Naruto doing?"

The girls had turned their anger to Naruto, yelling at him to leave Sasuke alone. Suddenly, all in one instant, a very hilarious one at that, someone bumped Naruto from behind, and instead of nose-to-nose with Sasuke, the two became mouth-to-mouth.

"Oh-ho… my… God…" said Tori, her eyes widening considerably.

The two broke apart, coughing, spitting, and spluttering.

"I'VE BEEN DEFILED!" gasped Naruto, "MY YOUTH IS RUINED!"

Suddenly, the incident had apparently become extremely funny, as everyone in the classroom but Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and Sasuke's fan club was falling out of their seats laughing.

"Jeez!" Tori had fallen out of her seat, she was laughing so hard.

When she finally regained her composure, it was to a gruesome scene involving Naruto getting the stuffing beaten out of him by Sasuke's fan girls.

She covered Hinata's eyes and grimaced until it was over.

Iruka walked in after the girls had taken their seats. Among the fray, to Ino's displeasure, Sakura had managed to slip into the seat in between Sasuke and Naruto.

"Ok, glad to see all of you made it today," he said, noting the bruised Naruto, "As you know, this means you have successfully graduated from the Ninja Academy and are officially genin from here on out. As such, I will now sort you into three-man groups. I should inform you, one group will be left with four, thanks to the addition of our Miss Ayuka up there," Iruka nodded in Tori's direction, and she looked down as other eyes turned on her.

Iruka started going down the list, calling out names for groups, but so far, none had a fourth member. Tori grew more and more nervous as her, Sakura, and Hinata's names weren't called for a longer and longer time, until finally…

"Team 7, we have Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno…"

Tori's heart pounded. She wouldn't be able to stand it if she wasn't in the same group with at least one of them.

"…Sasuke Uchiha…"

Her stomach dropped out of her throat. Maybe she and Hinata would be…

"…and Tori Ayuka."

Tori almost keeled over. What luck! She'd been put in the group with Sakura, the only one that had four members! Of course, with the addition of Sasuke, she'd have to put up with Sakura's annoying coos and blushing, but it was better than nothing.

Hinata sighed, and Tori suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

"Hinata…"

"Team 8 is Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame."

Hinata looked down. Tori tried again,

"You can switch with me if you want, Hinata…" she said, knowing full well she wouldn't get along with Kiba, but maybe Shino would be a good companion. She wasn't going to let Hinata suffer.

Hinata shook her head.

"No, it'll be better this way," she said, "I can't complain about what is given to me." Her eyes took on a determined look.

Tori smiled, and gave Hinata a comforting hug. "You're such a trooper… good luck."

"Team 10, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chouji Akimichi."

Ino was fuming. From Tori's perspective, not only was she not on Sasuke's team, but she was also on a team with two people she was famous for calling 'lazy and incompetent'.

Within a few moments, Naruto had something to say about the team arrangements, unsurprisingly. Standing up, he slammed a fist down on the desk, "Iruka-sensei, why am I, a super-talented shinobi, stuck on a team with a loser like Sasuke?"

Iruka frowned, "As I was about to say, Naruto, each of these teams was picked by their abilities and strengths. Sasuke and Sakura had the best grades, Tori's were average, and yours were the worst."

Sasuke said something Tori couldn't decipher at that point, but apparently it made Naruto mad.

Iruka ignored the bickering pair and continued.

"Now, we're going to break for lunch, and you will check the list I've posted on the door for the room you will go to meet your new teachers. That's all, class dismissed."

Tori and Hinata stood up.

"The usual place?"

Hinata was about to nod, when a voice came from behind her.

"Hinata."

She and Tori turned to see Shino standing behind them.

"Kiba wants you to sit with us at lunch. He says we need to discuss the team's hierarchy."

Hinata looked at Tori nervously.

Tori frowned. "The team's _hierarchy_?" Hinata hadn't missed it either, and her expression was one of slight fear. Tori stood up angrily. Kiba was gonna bully Hinata over her dead body.

Shino shrugged, "I wouldn't worry about it. He talks big, but everyone can tell he really isn't all that tough."

Tori huffed a bit, looking over at Hinata and then throwing Kiba a glare.

Shino sighed, pushing his sunglasses up his nosebridge in irritation, "If it'll make you feel any better, I'll keep an eye on him and call him out if he starts being a jerk. Feel better?"

This made Tori relax a bit. Hinata nodded, and cautiously followed Shino to where Kiba sat, waiting. The three left the room, Kiba starting up a speech. Tori could only hope that Hinata would be all right with only Shino watching out for her.

She stood up and headed to the door, wondering if Sakura had rallied their group together at all.

It turned out that Team 7 wasn't interested in a meeting of any kind. If anything, all Tori saw was Naruto sitting on a roof and Sakura wandering around, calling Sasuke's name. Like usual, Sasuke was nowhere to be found.

_'Some team…'_ Tori thought. At least Kiba had wanted to gather everyone together.

She took her lunch and jumped onto a rooftop near Naruto's. Team 10 was sitting on a nearby balcony, eating. Tori could hear Ino giving the other two a lecture on how the system was going to work.

Casually, she glanced over to Naruto's rooftop, but he'd disappeared. A small sniff relayed that he was very close. Tori looked around, but couldn't find him at her level. She crawled over to the edge of the roof and looked down to see Naruto inching carefully along the wall, completely focused and intent on whatever he was doing, which appeared to be sneaking up on someone.

She heard Ino comment on it, and watched as Naruto suddenly leaped into the open window, which slammed shut.

The building shook with the ferocity of whatever the hell was going on in there. Tori grabbed her lunch and leaped to safety on the balcony with Team 10.

"Who's Naruto attacking?" she asked Shikamaru.

"Sasuke. He didn't look happy, either," responded the apathetic boy.

"KICK HIS ASS, SASUKE!" yelled Ino towards the closed window.

Soon, the fighting stopped. Tori popped the last bit of sandwich into her mouth as the window opened.

Sasuke leapt out, dusting himself off and looking quite pleased. He jumped to the ground and walked away, hands in his pockets.

"I knew it, Naruto didn't stand a chance," said Shikamaru.

"YOU RULE, SASUKE!" cheered Ino.

Tori frowned and leapt over to the window.

"What're you doing, Tori?" called Shikamaru.

"Naruto's my teammate now, I gotta make sure he's all right," Tori yelled back.

She scrambled inside the window to see Naruto squirming on the floor, tied up by ropes, his mouth taped shut.

"You ok?" she asked, pulling the tape off.

"I'm not Naruto," he said.

"What?"

A pop sounded, and soon, Tori was untying Sasuke instead of Naruto.

"WHOA!" she yelled, scrambling backwards.

Sasuke came forward and clamped her mouth shut to quiet her.

Tori wrenched her face free. "Don't you touch me! What the hell are you doing disguised as Naruto, anyway?"

Sasuke glared, "You're very loud… and I wasn't disguised. Naruto jumped me."

"Ooh, I see, Big Bad Pretty Boy can't take on the class clown, can he? Not as tough as you claim, are you?"

The glare deepened.

"Dude, I've gotten worse than that, and the delivery boy wasn't even human," snapped Tori, referring to the many times she'd pissed Hiei off.

"Perhaps you'd like to experience the situation yourself?" he said, his voice dangerously calm.

"Sure, but there'd be one big difference. For one, I'm aware of the fact that you're attempting such a feat, and two, there's no way you'd be able to-"

In about two seconds, Tori was flat on her back, the piece of tape stuck over her mouth, and the rope wrapped around her arms tightly a couple of times, but not tied.

Sasuke held both ends in each hand, one knee pressed on her stomach to hold her down, and a smirk adorning his face.

"You were saying?"

Tori's eyes narrowed deeply. _'Oh, it's ON, pal!'_ she thought.

She closed her eyes, and struggled to focus her chakra into electrical energy to run it through the rope and up to his hands, but suddenly, he'd appeared behind her, the knot tied on the rope.

"I was gonna be nice and not tie you up, but you're not being a good girl. Plus, you might give Naruto a tip-off before I reach him, and we can't have that."

Tori's eyes widened with anger at having her own insult turned against her, but it was mainly the fact that now she couldn't reach him via electricity; wood didn't conduct it very well.

She squirmed violently, thrashing on the floor. Oh, if only he were a few feet closer…

He reached down and gave her a small pat on the head before jumping out a different window to find Naruto.

_'Damnit… WHY didn't I have Sakura tutor me on the Escape Jutsu?'_ thought Tori angrily as she struggled against her bonds. This was humiliating! That bastard was SO toast when she got out of here!

Tori looked down. Her legs hadn't been tied, thankfully, so she shifted her shoulder against a nearby crate and dragged her legs underneath her to stand up. She ran over to the window she'd come in through and threw her weight against it, knocking it open. She wriggled out onto the window, yelling in muffled cries to Team 10 on the balcony.

"Oh my God! Tori, what happened?" called Ino as she leapt over to the girl, pulling the tape off.

"Nothing…" Tori gasped, "Was practicing my sailor's knots." She couldn't tell anyone about the recent event; she'd never live it down.

"Apparently, you're pretty good at them," noted Shikamaru as he joined them, getting a knife out to cut the rope, "Too good for someone who was tying themselves up. Who did this?"

Tori caught her breath before answering.

"Nobody, don't mind it."

She stood up, "Thanks guys, but I've gotta find Naruto right now."

She leaped down from the roof, racing off.

Shikamaru and Ino looked at each other questioningly.

"Naruto wasn't in the room…?"


	6. The New Teacher Is…

**SUMMARY: **Tori receives a blast from the past as the teacher is revealed to Team 7, but if they fail his first exercise, they'll all be sent back to the Academy! One thing's for sure… nothing will stand in the way of their goals, but can they manage when only two of their members get along decently well?

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 6: The New Teacher Is…**

Tori ran as fast as she could, hurrying through the village along Sasuke's trail. If he reached Naruto… she couldn't bear to think about it.

She skidded to a stop as she reached a pathway where Sasuke and Sakura were talking.

"…if my parents knew I did stuff like that, I'd be so busted! He's so selfish!"

Tori blinked. Who was she talking about?

"Sure, he's alone… imagine being alone to deal with the darkness, not having any parents to hug or comfort you. You have no _idea_ what it means to be alone…"

Tori saw Sasuke's fists clench.

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Wh-what're you saying, Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned and glared at her.

"…You're annoying."

He walked away, leaving Sakura to stand on the path. Tori shook her head. Sakura really needed to find a better guy... Of course, she hadn't heard the whole conversation, but she'd been expecting Sakura to get burned sometime soon. She was mad, but instead of ripping on Sasuke, she decided to leave Sakura alone... she figured the girl needed it.

She walked along a corridor to see Naruto holding his stomach.

"Naruto!" She ran up to him and pulled his cheeks. "That really is _you_, isn't it?"

He angrily shoved her away, "What's the deal?"

"Ok, it is, just making sure." Tori breathed a sigh of relief, "Have you seen Sasuke yet?"

Naruto glared, "Yeah, I saw him."

"Oh, did he do that to you?" Tori noted his stomach, which he was still holding.

"Of course not! I just… ate something… that's all."

"Thank God that's all it was. I got… worried…"

Tori looked away. Naruto raised an eyebrow at her.

"You did?"

"Yeah… well… I saw Sasuke earlier, and… he didn't look too happy about you jumping him during lunch…"

Naruto glanced down.

"You've got rope burns on your arms, did you know that?"

Tori looked; she hadn't noticed them until now.

"Wow… wonder what that was…" she said, "Anywho, glad to see you're ok. I'm heading back to class now."

She turned and ran, hoping he wouldn't piece it together before she got a safe distance away.

_**Later…**_

"He's late!" yelled Naruto, stomping around the room, "I bet even Iruka-sensei's gone by now!"

"Would you chill out, Naruto?" snapped Sakura, "He'll be here when he gets… What the hell are you doing?"

Naruto had snatched an eraser from the chalkboard and stuck it in the door.

"It's what he gets for making us wait!" he retorted, "Besides, I'm bored."

Tori was sitting in the desk nearest the door, her head down on her arms. If their teacher turned out to be some training-obsessed Nazi, she'd pick up the same methods as Naruto. Footsteps reached her ears.

"An elite ninja isn't going to fall for a stupid prank like-" Sasuke started.

Tori closed her eyes, yawning as she muttered, "Someone's coming."

She heard a distinctive _whap_ as the eraser dropped onto its victim's head. Naruto keeled over with laughter.

"I can't believe you fell for that!"

"I'm really sorry, sensei! I tried to stop him, honest!" came Sakura's voice.

Tori then heard a vaguely familiar voice, which snapped her eyes open.

"Hmm… based on my first impression…"

The room went silent.

"…I hate you."

That voice…

Tori's head jerked up to see a face she only remembered from four years ago.

"I don't believe it…" she muttered.

The other three looked at her.

The tall man with the smoky white hair turned to face her.

"Oh, wow… this is a surprise, isn't it?"

"Kakashi!" Tori jumped up and hugged the man.

How could she not remember? Kakashi had sort of been her rock to lean on when Kurama left. It had only been for a short while, but she never forgot it. She hadn't seen him again after he dropped her off at the Harunos.

Kakashi waited until she let go to straighten himself out. "Yes, but now you must refer to me as sensei, got it? I'm not babysitting you today, or ever again. I'm your teacher as of this moment."

Tori's happiness fell through the roof. Her gaze dropped to the floor. She'd been so overjoyed to see him… she hadn't spent much time with him, but she'd felt safe when she held onto his arm, which she remembered as though it'd been yesterday. He'd also been kinder to her… hadn't he?

Kakashi seemed to notice this mood swing. He put a hand on her head.

"Ok, ok, I'm happy to see you, too, but you're not eight years old anymore, Tori. I'm glad you remember me, but this is serious."

Tori's face brightened up, and she nodded.

"Yes, sensei!"

The other three stood there in shock. Not just from the fact that the two were old acquaintances, but Tori had a reputation for refusing to agreeably acknowledge someone as 'sensei'.

"Tori… you know him?" asked Naruto.

"Uhm… it's a long story…"

"Well, I suppose I should get to know you three as well. Come with me," said Kakashi.

They walked outside to a small bridge area overlooking the village, and Kakashi turned to them as they sat down on some nearby steps.

"Ok, I guess you guys should tell me a little about yourselves first," he said.

"Like what?" asked Sakura.

"Your name, for starters, likes, dislikes, hobbies, any goals in life, that sort of thing."

"Why don't you go first?" asked Naruto, "It's common courtesy!"

"Ok then, my name is Kakashi Hatake, I have many likes and dislikes, but I don't feel like telling you what they are, I also have some hobbies, but I don't think they're your business, and neither are my goals."

He smiled, or seemed to; it was hard to tell with that mask on, "Your turn."

Naruto went first, "My name's Naruto Uzumaki, I like ramen, I don't like the 3-minute wait after you pour in the hot water, my hobbies include pranks and such, and my goal is to become the Lord Hokage!"

Tori's eyes widened. That was a big aspiration…

"Ok… I guess you would like to go next," said Kakashi, indicating Sakura.

"Ok, my name's Sakura Haruno, my likes are… well, it's not a thing, it's a person… and…" She blushed, "Oh, I hate Naruto."

Naruto seemed to wince.

'_Oh, I see. That complicates this little triangle, doesn't it?'_ thought Tori.

"My hobbies are… uhm… well, anyway… my goals include to… never mind."

Kakashi gave an exasperated sigh.

"How about you?" he asked Sasuke.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. My interests and hobbies aren't any of your business, either. But my goals include the revenge… and restoration… of my clan… and killing a certain person…"

Tori's eyes widened again. He lived for revenge. She'd heard the story of the demise of the Uchiha clan; Sasuke was the only one still living, she'd learned.

Obviously, the person was probably the one who'd killed them. Naruto, however, seemed a bit panicked at his last statement.

Kakashi brought her back from her thoughts.

"And you, Tori?"

"Oh! Uh… you know my name, I guess. I like being alone, I hate certain people I don't feel like stating the names of at the moment, my hobbies involve training, and my goal is to become a jounin so I can get out of this village and go home!"

Kakashi fixed a gaze on her.

"So, you've stuck with it, haven't you? What I said?"

Tori nodded.

The other three were giving her strange looks, but she didn't return them. She figured they'd know sooner or later.

Kakashi sighed.

"Ok then… I guess that concludes introductions. You four will meet back here tomorrow morning at sunrise. Here's a sheet with the details on it for your training. Oh, and don't eat breakfast… unless you enjoy throwing up."

After giving out the papers, he walked away, leaving them slightly stunned.

Tori paled, _'How hard is this gonna be?' _

_**That night…**_

Tori sat in her special spot, glancing over the sheet that Kakashi had given her. She sighed and set it down beside her in the roots, leaning her head back against the tree. What would it be like, training under this guy? He had changed from what she could remember. He hadn't shown this cold exterior to her when he'd brought her to Sakura's house… had he? She vaguely remembered another person, and Iruka-sensei… but that was it.

Her eyes closed as she felt a light breeze stir her hair. A scent caught it, and her eyes snapped open.

She sat up instantly, sniffing the air. Cinders… was there a fire? She stood up, so intent on the smell of the fire that she didn't notice the person behind her.

"There you are."

She spun around.

"Sasuke! What the-"

"No time, we gotta move."

"What…"

"It's Naruto and Sakura, come on!"

Confused, Tori followed Sasuke through the trees. He seemed as worried as she did… she could interrogate him on how he discovered her secret spot later.

As they neared the village, she noticed the sky lit up with an orange glow. Was someone having a bonfire? Was that all it was?

They reached the edge of the forest only to be greeted with an awful sight.

"What… happened?" asked Tori.

"That old warehouse caught fire," explained Sasuke, pointing to the burning building, "You remember it?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Naruto and Sakura are trapped inside."

"WHAT?"

Tori stared ahead at the crowd that had gathered.

"How…"

"Sakura went first, I think she was hiding from Ino or something… then the building caught flame. Naruto tried to go in and save her, but neither has come out."

Tori blinked, "And you haven't tried to help WHY? They're YOUR teammates, too, jackass!"

Sasuke shrugged, "I don't know where they are, and I'm not throwing my life away because of that."

Tori gritted her teeth, "You asshole!" she yelled, bolting towards the building. Sasuke's commands of "Stop, Tori!" never registered in her mind.

The crowd had grown bigger, and Mrs. Haruno's yells could be heard,

"LET ME GO! MY DAUGHTER'S IN THERE!"

Iruka was trying to keep her calm.

"Please, try to understand…"

"WHY DON'T YOU SAVE HER, YOU BASTARD! YOU WANT HER TO DIE!"

Iruka grimaced, "We can't just blindly send people in, we don't know where she is, or any proper methods of locating her in a fire!"

Tori gasped. Iruka didn't know Naruto was inside! She'd heard enough. While Iruka's back was turned, she threw herself from the crowd and bolted for the door.

"TORI!"

The screams hit deaf ears. All Tori could think about was Sakura… her only true friend besides Hinata…

The first one to show her true kindness…

She crashed through the door, feeling a hand grope for her ponytail and missing.

"TORI! GET BACK HERE NOW!" a voice roared through the doorway. It was too late; Tori was inside the building, searching frantically for Sakura amongst the blazing flames.


	7. The Fire

**SUMMARY: **Naruto and Sakura are in danger, and Sasuke won't lift a finger to help them! How can Tori manage this situation on her own?

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 7: The Fire**

Tori hurried on through the inferno, throwing open doors, calling Sakura's name over and over.

"SAKURA! ANSWER ME!"

The ash flew into her mouth as she called, and she coughed violently. "SAKURA!"

"Tori!" a voice finally came.

Tori kicked down the blazing hot doors to see Sakura huddled in the corner, her hands over her head, coughing.

"There you are!" Tori cried with relief, throwing hot but not yet flaming debris out of her way. "Let's go, everyone's waiting!"

Sakura looked up at her, "Naruto… he's in here, too… I heard his voice calling me… but I couldn't speak…"

"Don't worry about him; he can take care of himself. Let's go!"

Tori threw one of Sakura's arms over her shoulders and dragged her towards the door.

She reached the door of the warehouse, coughing up ash.

Soon, hands had roughly grabbed the girls, and Sakura was bundled tightly in a blanket.

Tori suddenly looked around and realized: Naruto hadn't come out yet. _'God damn it…'_ She wrestled to get away from the other ninja that were trying to cover her up, too.

"Tori, it's ok, Sakura's safe!" came Iruka's voice.

"You… don't get it… you idiot!" Tori snarled at him as he tried to drag her away from the building. She sank her teeth into his hand, forcing him to let go.

"NARUTO'S STILL IN THERE!"

She ran for the door, leaving Iruka in shock.

She vaguely heard Kakashi's voice over the din outside,

"Tori, come back here!"

"Kakashi! The doorway!"

Tori turned to see the entrance to the warehouse cave in, burning wood blocking her escape.

_'Shit… I've gone and done it now…'_ grumbled Tori. No turning back; she ran back through the building, this time searching for Naruto.

She kicked doors down, hoping he was somewhere nearby. In the very last room, she finally discovered him collapsed on the floor, trapped underneath a fallen pile of two-by-fours.

Thankfully, these hadn't caught fire yet, and Tori heaved them up, one by one, off the boy, until he was free enough for her to drag him out of the room and pull him onto her back.

_'Jesus… he's heavy…I guess he must've passed out from lack of oxygen… he's way too tough to just keel over like this…'_ she grunted.

She looked around. There weren't many windows in this place… but she looked up in the main warehouse area to see the usual office that overlooked it.

She dragged Naruto through the burning crates, trudging up the stairs and kicking down the office door. She could hear voices outside.

"It's almost reached the fuse box!"

"Everyone get back, the place is gonna blow!"

"NO! NARUTO'S IN THERE!"

"Iruka, get a hold of yourself!"

Tori had clambered up onto the desk, breaking the window with a computer monitor. She heaved Naruto onto her shoulders. It was now or never…

"I see them!"

"Wait, is she…"

"SHE'S GONNA JUMP!"

Tori leaped from the building, flying out into space. She turned so Naruto's body was on top of hers to cushion his fall.

Just then, she felt a huge blast of energy and heat behind her as the building exploded. She tumbled through the air, her grip on Naruto releasing. She hit the ground hard several yards away from the crowd. Iruka had taken Naruto to the medic-nins and was helping tend to him.

Tori grimaced as she stood up, her body in several kinds of pain... she'd fallen two stories, for crying out loud. Now to get away… only one place would allow her to heal properly.

She ducked into the trees, forcing herself to go as fast as possible. She'd hoped no one had seen her, but it would have been impossible not to. Her glade was within sight. Her energy was faltering badly; she could barely stand up anymore. The pond looked so inviting... the cool water beckoning to her after being in the searing-hot building.

She stumbled to the edge of it, not even caring as she collapsed, plunging down into the darkness.

Her mouth released the rest of its oxygen as she found her limbs too heavy to swim. She watched the moonlight glimmer on the surface, sending silvery rays through the water to her.

Would she die like this? It wasn't too bad of a way to go... she had a lovely image that would be the last thing her eyes ever viewed.

A dark shape suddenly appeared, and the serenity was disturbed as it plunged into the pool, grabbing her by the forearms and dragging her from her almost-resting-place.

She lay motionless, too tired to move as she was laid out on the grass. She could hear faint panting next to her, and mumbling. The speaker seemed to be talking to himself.

"She's not moving… and I don't think she's breathing."

Suddenly, she felt two fingers grab her nose, pinching it shut, and suddenly a mouth had closed over hers, blowing down her throat.

The intake of oxygen violently reacted with her exhaling of carbon dioxide, and Tori sat up suddenly, coughing and feeling like she was going to hurl. She soon regretted it, as all pain and ache she'd gotten a small reprieve from washed over her body.

"You… sicko!" were her first words as she glared at her savior, only to have it seriously falter and quickly change to an eye twitch.

Sasuke was panting slightly next to her, "At least you're alive…" he said, suddenly whacking her upside the head, "You idiot! Why'd you go in?"

Tori snapped at his hand, "Don't you… what the hell d'you think you're doing, taking advantage of me like that? Have you no dignity, you sick, twisted…"

"Taking advantage? I was trying to save your stupid life! Thanks for the gratitude!"

"Next time you wanna save my life, DON'T FUCKING KISS ME!"

"THAT WASN'T A KISS, IT'S CALLED CPR!"

"WELL, DON'T DO IT AGAIN!"

"TRUST ME, I WON'T!"

Tori tried to get up, only to remember painfully that her limbs weren't working properly. She struggled to push herself over to her favorite tree with her arms, the pain shooting throughout her body, but Sasuke grabbed her firmly and dragged her over there, propping her up.

She tried to swat him away, "Get away from me, I don't ever want to look at you again…"

Sasuke glared, "No thank you for that, either?"

"I never asked for it, did I?"

"You're too weak to be moving around like this; you should get home."

"I'll stay right here, thank you! Now get out of my sight… permanently!"

Sasuke's glare deepened, and he stood up suddenly, "What the hell is with you?!" he yelled, "Why are you so goddamn…"

He paused, his teeth gritting. He clearly hadn't meant to say that.

Tori returned the nasty look, "So goddamn what?"

Sasuke took a deep breath, and turned away, taking a few steps before he looked back, a scary smirk now adorning his face.

"Just remember something, Ayuka; you owe me your life now."

He walked away, leaving Tori thunderstruck.

All she could retort was,

"I NEVER FUCKING ASKED YOU TO SAVE ME!"

Suddenly, she heard voices fast approaching.

"Over here, I heard her!"

"Tori?"

She looked in their direction.

Iruka and several other ninja, including Kakashi, stepped through the bushes.

"Finally! Thank goodness you're all right!" said Iruka, kneeling down beside her, "Are you injured? Anything broken?"

Tori shook her head; she didn't know for sure. Two ninja in white came forward with a stretcher, carefully placing her onto it.

"We're just gonna run you to the hospital. They've gotta get the ash out of your lungs and such," said Iruka.

"Wait… are there gonna be any needles?" asked Tori.

"Well… they might have to give you a shot for pain," said Iruka, "but it'll be quick."

Tori's eyes widened, and she twisted to get off the stretcher.

"Oh, NO WAY! I am NOT getting a needle stuck in my-"

Kakashi roughly pushed her back down with a hand.

"Yes, you are, and you're going to take it like a woman, not a screaming little girl," he said, his icy gaze fixed on her.

Tori made a small grunt of anger, but laid back, her body too satisfied with lying down.

A medical ninja approached her at the hospital, "Ok, Miss Ayuka, we're just going to give you a little morphine with this syringe to help ease the pain, you've got some bad burns on your back, hands, and arms."

Tori shook her head and tried to push herself back from the doctor, almost falling off the table.

"YOU KEEP AWAY FROM ME WITH THAT UNTIL I SEE YOUR LICENSE, YOU QUACK!"

She caused a huge din, accidentally triggering a power surge when she threw her hand on the wall.

In the end, Iruka stuck his head out the door into the waiting room.

"Kakashi, can you come in here, please?"

Kakashi sighed; from the commotion arising in the treatment room, he knew they'd be needing him soon.

As soon as he walked in the door, Tori froze.

"What did I tell you about taking it like a woman?" he said, his eye narrowed. Tori wavered under the gaze. He stood next to her, and she cringed, waiting for the screaming, yelling, or lecturing.

When she opened her eyes, it was to see his elbow not two inches from her face.

"If it'll make you feel better," he said.

Tori blinked, realizing what he was doing. Once more, the doctor approached her, much more carefully this time, and dabbed her arm with the cotton ball.

Her hands tightened around Kakashi's arm instinctively as she felt the needle slide under her skin. Her teeth gritted, and she buried her face in his sleeve, waiting until they'd removed the syringe.

She felt sharp pains run up and down her hands and arms as she released him, and remembered her burns.

She soon felt warmth spread through her veins, and the pain began to disappear. Oh wow, that felt nice…

She flopped back on the hospital bed, sighing in comfort. Yep, that hit the spot…

The door opened, and in stepped Sakura, her face still black from the soot, but her eyes full of tears.

"Tori…" she sobbed… "Th-thank you…"

Before anyone could stop her, the girl had run over and grabbed Tori tightly about the neck, hugging her, "I thought I was gonna die!"

Tori blinked, half-wincing as the burns on her back gave a painful twinge, "Hey, calm down…"

Sakura pulled away, sobbing, "Please get better soon."

Tori sighed and put on the smile for her, "Don't worry; I'll be fine by tomorrow! You just watch!"

Sakura nodded, and her mother led her out of the room.

He turned to the girl.

"Up for one more visit?" he asked.

"From who?"

Kakashi opened the door, "Bring him in, Iruka."

Iruka pushed Naruto through the door, who was also ash-covered. A bandage was on his left cheek.

"Well, Naruto?" said Iruka.

Naruto looked at the floor, not saying anything. Tori blinked.

"Don't you have something to say to this girl?" said Kakashi.

Naruto looked up, his eyes full of annoyance and disturbance. "…thanks…" he muttered, looking at the floor again.

Tori smiled softly.

"Naruto…"

The boy scuffed a foot on the floor, and Iruka led him out.

Kakashi sighed. "Ok, I'm going to have to postpone our little exercise, it seems. You three should get some rest, and then be ready for your training to begin."


	8. The Exercise Begins

**(A/N): I've decided to start adding summaries of each chapter previous to the title. I'll go back and input them into the older chapters, but just thought I'd let you know. **

**SUMMARY: **Disaster averted, right? WRONG. Kakashi's friendly manner has all but vanished as he pits Team 7 against their first… and worst… enemy: him!

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 8: The Exercise Begins**

**_One week later…_**

"He's late…" grumbled Sakura as Team 7 stood shivering on the balcony. The events of the week before hadn't been brought up again by their three participants; they seemed to always bring an awkward silence whenever they were mentioned.

"Maybe he's bringing something cool to show us?" asked Naruto hopefully.

"Or maybe he just overslept…" suggested Sasuke.

"Someone wake me up when he gets here…" Tori mumbled, curling herself into a tight ball on the far end of the balcony.

Naruto yawned, "She's got the right idea…"

Sakura glared. "No, Naruto! If he comes and finds one of us sleeping, we're all probably gonna suffer, just like you and your little pranks!"

She marched over to Tori, "Wake up; I am NOT getting any more marks on my record with this guy because of you! Come on!"

Tori was out like a light.

"Can I give her a moustache?" Naruto whipped out a marker.

"Tori! Wake up!" snapped Sakura, nudging the girl with her foot. Still, Tori didn't move.

"Is she dead?" asked Naruto.

"Hopefully; one less person I've gotta deal with," said Sasuke.

"I don't get it! How come she can't sleep like this at night, but she's a stinkin' rock in the mornings?" asked Sakura, exasperated.

"She's probably got a sleeping disorder," said Sasuke, shrugging.

Sakura looked at him, "…You really think so?"

"If those are the symptoms…"

"Gosh, I never knew…"

Naruto plopped down next to the girls.

"I still have an itch to use this marker…" he hinted.

"Absolutely not, Naruto!" Sakura snapped, backhanding the boy upside the head.

"OWW! …Did you know you hit harder than Iruka-sensei?" groaned Naruto, rubbing the sore spot.

"I HOPE so! _Some_one's gotta teach you some manners, pal!"

"Would you guys shut up? You're gonna wake her," said Sasuke, who'd appeared near them, kneeling down next to Tori.

"And since when do YOU care about anyone but yourself?" asked Naruto, earning himself another whack from Sakura.

"Don't talk to Sasuke like that!"

"If she's really got a sleeping disorder, you could seriously mess up her brain chemistry by waking her," continued Sasuke.

"You see, Naruto? Keep it down!"

_**A few hours later…**_

A strange smell greeted Tori's nostrils when she opened her eyes. It was a blend of three scents in one. Not remembering when she was last awake caused her to open her eyes and look around cautiously to find out whose they were.

A little farther over, she could see Sakura sitting against the wall, brushing her hair. Naruto was walking towards them, having come back from some sort of walk.

But one scent was the strongest…

Tori turned her head to see Sasuke sitting not two feet away from her, his eyes closed.

"HOLY CRAP!" she yelped, flying backwards.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open, and he glared at her.

"Tori?" asked Sakura, putting her brush away.

"What the hell is he doing near me while I'm sleeping?!" Tori yelled.

"Sleeping disorder, my ass," mumbled Sasuke, rubbing an ear painfully.

"…say what?"

"Nothing!" piped in Sakura.

Tori blinked at the sunlight. "How long was I out?"

"Two hours," replied the other girl.

Tori stood and stretched, "Is he here yet?"

"Nope," grumbled Naruto.

"He expects us to be here bright and early, so why isn't he?" asked Sakura angrily.

"Good morning, children!" came Kakashi's voice.

All four looked up to see their sensei alighted on a statue.

"So sorry, I'm afraid I slept in a bit."

Sakura opened her mouth to retort angrily, but Kakashi continued.

"Now, let's get to your exercise."

Grudgingly, the four kids followed Kakashi to a small clearing.

"Here we are!"

Kakashi set a small timer on a rock.

"I have here…" He held up two small bells, "your exercise."

"A music class?" asked Sakura.

"No, your task is to take these bells from me by noon," said Kakashi, "The two who don't get the bells not only fail this exercise and go back to the Academy, but also…"

He gestured to two box lunches.

"They go without lunch."

_'So that's why he said no breakfast…'_ thought Tori.

"…That's all?" quipped Naruto.

"I'll give you fair warning, if you don't take this seriously and attack with the aim to kill, you won't succeed."

Tori's eyes widened.

"Kill?"

Kakashi nodded, "You may use weapons if you so choose."

Sakura blinked, "But, isn't that a bit much?"

Kakashi glanced at her, "Trust me, you'll need it."

Naruto growled and pulled out a kunai.

"I'll show him…" Tori heard him mutter, and he took a step forward.

Suddenly, a dust cloud arose, and when it cleared, Naruto was frozen in his position, held by Kakashi.

"HOLY-" Tori jumped away in surprise.

"I didn't see him move!" gasped Sakura.

Kakashi was looking at Naruto calmly.

"I didn't say go," he said, "But you did have the intent to kill; kudos to you."

Sasuke had almost fallen backwards from shock. Tori could tell that, fast as he was, Sasuke hadn't seen him, either.

"Now, ready and… GO!"

Tori leapt away into the trees, steadying herself on a branch.

"I've gotta be careful," she muttered, "This guy means business."

She raced through the branches to the tallest tree she could find, and clambered to the highest, safest limb she could reach.

Below, she heard Naruto yell out, and she peered through the leaves to see the tiny orange figure hanging upside down.

She sighed and focused on staying relaxed. Naruto had gotten caught, tough break, but she wouldn't go down so easily.

She noticed Kakashi had disappeared, and turned her ears in all directions. Her nose strained for his scent among the smell of twigs and leaves.

Suddenly, she heard Sakura scream.

She paled, "Oh, crap, not Sakura, too!" She had to go help her, but she'd give away her position. She gritted her teeth and began to jump along the higher branches of the trees below.

She soon noticed a sight that nearly made her heart stop. Sasuke's head was lying on the ground, turning in various directions.

She shook her own and peered closer to see the dirt torn up around him. He'd been buried, not decapitated.

Sakura came walking down the path, and Tori was relieved to see she was all right, but as soon as Sakura saw Sasuke's head, she had a similar reaction to Tori's, except a bit more exaggerated.

She screamed and keeled over.

"Sakura!" Tori jumped down to examine the fainted girl.

"Tori!"

Sasuke was squirming under the ground, "A little help here?"

Tori glared, "Like the help you were gonna give Sakura and Naruto a week ago and decided it wasn't worth it?"

Sasuke sighed, "I tried to tell you afterwards, I figured you should be…"

"Save it, loser."

Tori stood up, giving Sasuke the eerie smirk, her knuckles cracking.

"Oh, my, it looks like _your_ life is in _my_ hands now… funny how fate handles things, isn't it?"

Sasuke glared, "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?"

Tori stepped forward, a fist formed tightly, "THIS is for kissing me without my permission, asshole!"

Sasuke cringed as her hand connected solidly with the top of his skull. He glared deeply. Almost as an afterthought, Tori stomped her foot down hard near his face, loosening the dirt enough for Sasuke to begin digging himself out.

He clambered onto solid ground, brushing the earth off his clothes.

Tori had gone back to Sakura and was gently shaking her.

"Sakura?"

Sasuke came and sat down near them.

"Hey, wake up," he said.

Sakura's eyes opened up, and Tori dropped back onto her butt to avoid the blur that shot up and attached itself around Sasuke's midriff.

"SASUKE! YOU'RE ALL RIGHT!" she cried.

Sasuke twisted, prying the girl off him, "Yeah, I'm fine, whatever."

Tori sighed.

A bell sounded in the distance.

"No!"

Sasuke stood up angrily, "We're out of time!"

Sakura gasped, "Oh, no, none of us got bells! Whaddya think he's gonna do to us?"

Tori frowned, "I guess we should go and see…"

A few minutes later, Sakura and Naruto found themselves tied to posts.

"Oh my, you all sound hungry," said Kakashi, "too bad…"

A growl resonated from Naruto's stomach.

"Well, there's some good news, I guess," said Kakashi.

The four of them raised their heads.

"None of you are going back to school."

Tori blinked, "Say what?"

Sakura frowned, "But… none of us got bells!"

Kakashi sighed, "I know… it'd be pointless for you to go back. None of you will ever become ninja!"

Tori's eyes widened. Her dream of leaving this village… no, it couldn't be…

"Your psyche is highly underdeveloped. You all acted like complete brats…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Sasuke had charged for him. Tori's mouth dropped. Ok, Naruto was the one who was supposed to charge… why was Sasuke…

Well, it didn't matter. Within a few seconds, Sasuke was on his stomach, one arm pinned on his back. Kakashi sat on him, mashing his face into the dirt with one foot.

"I rest my case…" he muttered.

Sakura was furious, "HEY! GET OFF OF SASUKE! YOU CAN'T JUST TREAT HIM LIKE A BUG!"

"Did any of you at all get the point of this exercise?" asked Kakashi, ignoring her.

They were silent. Sasuke gritted his teeth as Kakashi's foot seemed to press harder.

He sighed, "Teamwork."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "Wait… if this was supposed to promote teamwork, why were there only two bells?"

"Two of you had to decide to put the team's best interests before your own," said Kakashi, "Had you all worked together, you probably would've been able to take the bells."

He glared around at them.

"Naruto decided he could do all the work himself, while Sasuke figured he didn't need any of you other three. Sakura spent all the time looking for Sasuke, when Naruto was requiring aid right in front of her eyes. Tori went and hid out by herself, deciding to not even try to take a bell, just sit and watch. If anything, though, she came the closest to teamwork; when Sakura screamed, she came to help her."

Kakashi folded his arms.

"I hope you're happy. Now, enjoy your lunch, you two. And if I catch either of you feeding Sakura or Naruto, you automatically fail. Understood?"

He vanished.

Tori set the lunch on the ground, not touching it.

Sasuke looked around, and another loud growl came from Naruto's stomach.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine! I can go without eating for days!" Naruto chirped, accompanied by a painful smile.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"…Here."

He held out the lunch to Naruto, who sat in shock.

Tori raised her head, looking in between the two. A small smile reached her face, and she picked up her lunch and handed it to Sakura.

"No way, Tori!" said Sakura, "Kakashi-sensei said…"

"That if he catches us, we fail," said Tori, "But that's ONLY if he catches us."

Sakura smiled. Tori picked up the chopsticks.

"Besides, I hate spicy tuna rolls."

She popped one into Sakura's mouth, when suddenly a storm popped out of nowhere, fierce winds whipping through their clothes.

Kakashi appeared in front of them, looking furious.

"YOU…"

Team 7 cringed.

Tori yelped and covered her head; this was the end of the line, she was done for…

"…pass!"


	9. Training from Hell

**SUMMARY: **It begins… Kakashi has passed the four unusually-lucky members of Team 7, but what will these next few months of training entail? And why the hell has he decided that chaining the members who get along the worst together is the only way to make them forget their differences?

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 9: Training from Hell**

"Eh… what?" said Tori.

Kakashi smiled.

"You guys are the first team to ever pass this exercise."

Sakura blinked.

"But… you said…"

"That's just what I mean. All of the other teams did nothing but listen to me, like mindless little drones. It's true that a ninja is supposed to listen to orders, but there will be times when you have to think for yourselves and put the safety of your team members above the priority of the mission. Those in the ninja world who break the rules are trash… but those who don't care about their companions are worse than trash."

Kakashi gave them a thumbs up,

"Congratulations, Team 7. Your training begins tomorrow!"

Naruto cheered happily, "I did it! I'm a ninja, baby!"

"Let's go," said Kakashi, turning to leave. Sasuke stood up and followed him wordlessly.

Tori stood, too, but turned and cut Sakura loose with a kunai.

"All right! My mom's got a special dinner planned tonight," said Sakura, "And boy, am I hungry!"

"HEY! YOU FORGOT TO UNTIE ME!" yelled Naruto

Tori turned, laughing as she cut him loose, "Calm down, will ya?"

Naruto looked at her cautiously, but it soon reverted to a grin,

"Thanks, and Iruka-sensei better buy me a HUGE bowl of ramen tonight, 'cause I'm starving!"

**_A few weeks later…_**

"I don't really CARE what you say! I was heading the right way the whole time! END OF STORY!" yelled Tori.

Sasuke glared, "As I've tried to say before, it was YOUR way that almost led us into that swamp!"

"Keep dreaming, Mr.-I'm-Perfect-So-I'm-Always-Right!"

"Hey, come on, Tori, Sasuke _was_ trying to lead us in the right direction…" started Sakura.

"Oh, SURE! Just 'cause _you_ follow the bastard everywhere he goes…"

"And maybe if Sasuke hadn't insisted we stop, we might've caught up to the stupid dog!" piped in Naruto.

"HOW DARE YOU!" yelled Sakura, pounding the unfortunate boy on the head.

"Besides, wasn't it YOU who said you could do this on your own, Naruto?" snapped Sasuke.

"NOW HOLD ON-"

"Everybody, SHUT UP!" came a booming voice from overhead, freezing Team 7 and its recent captive, a German shepherd, in their tracks.

Kakashi appeared in a whirl of smoke, a highly miffed look on his face.

"What's the meaning of this?" he said coldly, fixing the four kids and dog with an unusually angry glare.

The members of Team 7 looked at each other, wondering who'd be brave enough to take on their apparently-pissed-off sensei, though it wasn't in his nature to get mad so easily. The dog was cowering.

Sakura swallowed hard.

"W-well… you see, Kakashi-sensei… we went after the lost dog, as described in our mission, and successfully captured it, as you can see… but there were a few… erm… difficulties when it came time to navigate our way home…"

"Like the fact that Sasuke couldn't find his way out of a paper bag!" snapped Tori.

"Hey, it was mostly Naruto's fault!" retorted Sakura, turning on her.

"WHAAT?"

"BE QUIET!" roared Kakashi. The four kids froze.

He stood there, pressing his nose bridge in between two fingers. Tori glanced down at his hip pouch, the flap of which was partially open, and noticed something…

"Kakashi-sensei… where's your Make-Out Paradise book?" she asked. They all knew that Kakashi was never five feet out of range of a copy.

He sighed heavily, "It's been missing for a while… I'm about to go interrogate Gai about its location… I'm sure I heard him in my room last night…"

Team 7 nearly keeled over. The guy _really_ loved those novels…

He shook his head and took a deep breath, the emotionless expression resuming its place on his features, "Now, I've been noticing an extreme lack of teamwork recently… any clues as to why?" he asked calmly.

Tori almost opened her mouth to retort.

"Anyone BESIDES Tori and her theories about Sasuke…"

The other three were silent.

Kakashi shook his head.

"This apparently requires some serious attention. I'll take Fang back to his owner now, and you kids go home. Tomorrow, I'm going to start you on a new training program that'll mainly focus on your getting along better. You can't function well as a team until you learn to at least tolerate each other's presence."

Kakashi took the shepherd's leash from Sasuke, and Team 7 disbanded for the day.

Tori and Sakura headed back to the Haruno residence, quiet at first.

Sakura piped up,

"Whaddya think this new program will be like?"

Tori didn't look up,

"I do know one thing, it can't be any worse than all these stupid missions we've been doing. I mean, BABYSITTING? Those kids were nightmares!"

"Tori, you know we've gotta do grunge work first; everyone has to. I saw Ino's team taking out the garbage for the Aburame clan the other day…"

Tori couldn't help but note a small hint of delight in Sakura's voice,

"The point is… we all start small. We'll get to the good stuff soon."

"Try telling that to Naruto…" said Tori. The kid had done nothing but complain about all the D-rank missions they'd been doing. She was bored, too, but Sakura was right.

"Naruto can kiss it," snapped Sakura, "I _still_ can't believe I wound up on a team with him…"

Tori sighed.

_**The next day…**_

Tori awoke on the bridge to the large pop that announced the arrival of their sensei. The other three jerked their heads up to see him standing on the railing, adorned with a black backpack as an addition to his usual attire.

"Hope I didn't keep you kids waiting too long," he said cheerfully.

Grumbling, Team 7 got to its feet.

"Now, I just want you to remember that this exercise is to, hopefully, get the four of you to work better as a team. You sort your personal problems out, and you can get anything accomplished!"

Naruto glared, "…You sound like last night's fortune cookie…"

"So… what's in the bag?" asked Tori, bending to the side to get a better look at the black backpack.

"Your exercise. Now, hold still, you must be in a specific order for this to work…"

He rearranged the standing position until the four of them were lined up as such: Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Tori.

"Perfect! Now, close your eyes… I mean it, Naruto, I know if you're peeking."

Tori closed her eyes skeptically. Suddenly, a great rush of wind whirled around her and her teammates, stirring up a huge cloud of dust. She heard clanking, clicking, and snapping, and wondered if this was part of the exercise.

"Ok, open!"

When Tori lifted her dust-covered eyelids, she immediately had to close them again in a grimace against Sakura's earth-shattering shriek.

When it was over, Sakura was yelling angrily at about ninety miles an hour in some kind of protest. Tori looked in horror to see a metal band clasped around her friend's waist, and thick chains connected her to another band, which was bound around…

"WHY NARUTO? WHY? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?"

Tori stared at the ground, contemplating. If Naruto and Sakura were like that… then…

She winced as she heard chains rattle next to her, and she looked down to see familiar devices binding her and Sasuke.

She closed her eyes, "If I'm still stuck to Sasuke when I open my eyes again, I think I'm gonna blow…"

She opened one eye to see it wasn't her imagination and took an enormous breath.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THIS? WHY SASUKE? WHY COULDN'T YOU STICK SAKURA TO HIM, SHE'D BE MUCH HAPPIER-"

Kakashi clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Now, you've gotten your chance at retaliation, now it's my turn to give you the reasons. First of all Tori, Sakura and Sasuke already get along quite well, so there was no point in sticking them together. Secondly, Sakura also gets along with you, so that would be pointless as well. The only person she didn't like was Naruto, so that seemed the most logical way to go. As for you and Sasuke, you two are always at each other's throats, so I figured…"

"Hold it; Naruto and Sasuke don't get along, either! Why didn't you put _them_ together!"

"Because this is killing two relationship problems at once, and it gets the whole team involved. Naruto and Sasuke can be dealt with later."

Sakura looked about ready to cry.

"I've already talked this over with Mrs. Haruno, and after much debate, she's agreed to let you girls do this," said Kakashi.

"THAT TRAITOR!" yelled Sakura, "That's it! I disown my family! I'm putting myself up for adoption, right now!"

"Wait…" said Tori, ignoring her, "the way you worded that…"

"Yes, this will last much longer than just today. It will last until you've all sorted out your differences and can work together properly. That means you will be eating together, training together, etc."

"WHAAAT?" yelled Tori, her face flushing red. This meant eating, sleeping, and even BATHING! With SASUKE!

Sakura was dumbstruck. The same thoughts were running through her mind.

"Wait… Naruto is NOT sleeping in my room!" she yelled.

"Well... I had to talk with Mrs. Haruno about that. You and Naruto will be staying at your house, at your parents' requests."

"Then… where…" Tori started. She'd better be staying too! There was no reason not to!

"Tori, you will be staying with Sasuke."

Tori stood there, horrified. "WHY?!"

"Kind of defeats the purpose of quality time for you all to be shoved together in the same house. I think each pair needs to have time together, without the other two to rely on. I wouldn't have had any of you at the Harunos' due to the parents being there, but Mr. Haruno got a little... well... Tori, you were the only one I could get them to agree with staying elsewhere."

Tori nearly cried. She thought they cared about her!

An idea suddenly popped in her head. Maybe if…

"Oh, Sasuke! Let's put aside our differences and be friends! Whaddya say, BUDDY?" With that, she gave Sasuke an overly-dramatic and teeth-gritting-forced guy hug, pats on the back and all. He didn't move, and, to Tori's dismay, Kakashi wasn't convinced.

"I'm glad you're so willing to do this. It makes my job so much easier. Now, a local fisherman has requested aid in the repair of his boat, so I expect you all to get over to the lake immediately. Remember, this is still a mission, so I don't want any complaining, and no sassing or back-talking the client… Naruto."

Neither of the boys had said anything about the exercise as of yet, and Sasuke turned to Tori as though it didn't exist.

"Come on, stop standing around, we've got work to do," he said. Tori could usually tolerate his I'm-the-leader tone, but she just wasn't in the mood today…

"HELL NO! I DEMAND THE REMOVAL OF THIS OFFENDING DEVICE, OR I'M NOT DOING ANY MISSIONS AT-"

She froze when Kakashi's eye fixed on her.

"On second thought…"

Sasuke started walking, effortlessly tugging the extremely unhappy girl behind him. Not even Naruto was complaining about having yet another D-rank mission to do when he could be beating the stuffing out of an imaginary evil overlord.

Sakura was just as upset, if not more so, about the arrangement. No one even knew how long this was going to last…

Their first mission chained together turned out quite chaotic. Tori made several attempts to break the chains by suddenly taking off running, in which she was simply snapped backwards like a paper clip on a rubber band. There was a benefit, though. Every attempt caused her to fall to the ground, which forced the two-foot binding to drag Sasuke off his feet and land in a pile, which brought laughs from both Tori and Naruto at the ridiculous appearance.

The client was a naïve little old man who thought the chains were highly amusing, and would comment that Tori should watch her step whenever she made an escape attempt that dragged her and Sasuke to the ground.

Naruto received several beatings for getting bored and diving for fish, dragging Sakura along with him while she was trying to hammer planks over the hole in the boat. She emerged soaking wet and extremely pissed off every time, and Naruto's bruise collection grew dramatically.

The boat somehow was repaired nicely, mostly due to Sasuke's peculiarly-exceptional carpenter skills, and the four of them headed home, or, for one of them, her new temporary home.

Tori still hadn't stopped ranting about how unfair this whole situation was until she and Sasuke were almost at the gates of the Uchiha clan property. She could sense his tension building up; good, she wanted to piss him off. She wouldn't be happy until he replaced that stupid stone mask with one that reflected her own mood.

She finally got her wish, but it wasn't how she planned.

Suddenly, whirling around, Sasuke caught both of her wrists behind her back and forced her down into a dip so low that her legs were rendered useless, and only the arm holding hers together was supporting her. As for the other one, it held a kunai to her neck. Sasuke's normally unreadable black eyes seemed to be filled with waves of annoyance, irritation, and anger.

"If you don't quit complaining, I'll make it so you never see your friends again, or anything else, for that matter," he muttered dangerously.

It took Tori a while to regain her composure, but once she did, she attempted to put on an air of one who isn't easily intimidated,

"Are you _threatening_ me, pal? 'Cause we can go! Oh yeah, I'll show you!"

Sasuke soon realized that there was only one method…

"How about this, if you don't quit complaining, I'm gonna make that CPR move a mode of suffocation, how's that sound?"

That seemed to do the trick. Apparently, the memory of it seemed to jar her into a silent humiliation mode, during which Sasuke straightened up and continued on, dragging her through the gates and down the streets of the deserted neighborhood.

Tori snapped to her senses and looked around. All of the houses bore the same symbol as on the back of Sasuke's clothes: a red and white fan.

She still wasn't content to just let these events unfold, but for the time being, she was curious. She'd never come in here before, mainly because the gates were always locked, but until now, she'd never taken it into account that Sasuke lived without any family at all; no parents, no siblings, no relatives or anything.

She remained quiet, watching Sasuke with a kind of sadness in her eyes. His family had been slaughtered…

Soon, Sasuke stopped at the biggest house in the place.

"Here we are," he said calmly, opening the door and heading in. They took off their shoes and headed down the hallway. Tori couldn't help but notice that everything was extremely tidy, and the rooms that were open looked like they were rarely used.

They reached the kitchen, and Sasuke headed for the refrigerator, pulling it open.

"You hungry?" he asked.

Tori looked at him oddly. Even though she'd been so awful to him, he was still… civil? It had to be a trap.

"Not really," she answered, in the same manner.

He shrugged and took an apple, closing the door and heading for the spacious living room. He gestured around.

"What do you want to do?"

Tori gave him a curious look. Now she understood. The guy didn't know how to entertain guests; he was making a good first attempt, though. But why was he being so nice?

She glanced around and saw a pad of paper and pencil on a desk, "I guess I can draw, but what about you?"

Sasuke picked up a book from the table, "Read."

Tori picked up the pad and pencil, and Sasuke walked the two of them over to the couch and sat down, opening his book and growing deathly silent.

Tori looked down at the blank pad and cautiously began drawing a horse. The hours ticked by, and night fell outside.

She noticed Sasuke stealing glances at her picture every once in a while, and he finally broke the eerie silence.

"That's a very bad drawing."

Tori gave him a look, "Excuse you?"

"You heard me."

"I don't recall ever insulting anything of yours, buster!"

"Try my intelligence, my navigation skills, my communication skills, my appearance…"

"So what? Everyone already knows all of those suck."

"You're lying."

"Oh, really? How so?"

"Your pupils close up when you lie. You obviously don't really think they suck."

"Sure, for all you know I could just see something I don't like. That's another cause, you know."

"True, but they would've closed up before."

"Wait… what… I hate you."

A smirk appeared on the boy's face.

"So, which is it that you're lying about? My intelligence… navigation…" he paused for dramatic effect, bringing his face very close to hers, "…appearance?"

Tori could feel her cheeks heating up considerably. His eyes connected with her own, and she almost couldn't look away… … almost.

A great, instinctive shove from Tori sent both of them flying onto the opposite end of the couch, where the girl found herself on top of him. She scrambled off, panicked, and caught her breath. What the hell was that?

The look hadn't left Sasuke's face, and he sat up, fixing her with it.

"Ehh… I think I wanna go to bed now…" Tori said, her face still very red.

She stood up, feeling the weight of the boy attempting to drag her down. He didn't move.

"Can we?" she asked impatiently.

His eyes attempted to snatch hers again, but she looked away.

"I'd like to go to bed," she repeated.

"Why not stay out here?"

"You know damn well why! I'm not sleeping on a couch, much less with you!"

"Oh, you say you prefer the bed?"

Tori's face darkened immensely.

"How… why… you perverted ass!"

"There was nothing perverted about that statement, your mind simply made it that way."

Tori turned away, bristling fiercely. She'd always thought him to be the civilized, quiet type, but a closet pervert? She felt him stand up, as the chains went slack.

"As you wish…"

Tori marched down the hallway, determined to find some way to fix this. Suddenly, she was jerked backwards as Sasuke stopped.

"This is my room."

He slid open the door. Tori peered in. It was clean and tidy, too… except for a couple bags on the floor.

"Hey, my stuff!" said Tori, dropping onto the bags and rummaging through one duffel in particular.

"AH HA! Pajamas!" she cried joyously. She dragged Sasuke over to the closet and went in, closing the door on the chain to keep him outside while she changed into her favorite PJ pants adorned with penguins and a t-shirt.

She came out to see he'd somehow changed into his own red plaid PJ pants and a t-shirt.

Looking around, she noticed the dresser right next to the closet.

"That explains it…" she said.

Sasuke gestured to the bed, "Shall we?"

Tori glared, "Don't make me knee you in the balls, asshole."

She grabbed her duffel as the two of them climbed onto the king-sized bed and slammed it down between them.

"You cross this line, I castrate you, got it?" snapped Tori, "Now good night!"


	10. The Love Square?

**SUMMARY: **The new training is well under way, but Tori already can't take anymore; Sasuke has decided to start using his supremely-good looks and charm to try to win her over, and she has no interest! Will Sasuke capture her heart the way he has every other girl he's met, or will Tori be 'the one that got away'?

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 10: The Love Square?**

_**A week later…**_

Tori didn't know how much more she could take. Sasuke was getting bolder every day to the point where it was just sickening. He was treating her like they were newlyweds! Of course, she couldn't ask Sakura for help; the girl would be brokenhearted, and telling Naruto would pretty much mean telling her, too.

Kakashi might be able to help, but Sasuke would probably act like she was making it all up, and nobody would believe her. She didn't have any options!

She felt ready to rip her hair out. She hated this! Sasuke had her right under his stupid thumb!

That morning, Tori felt tugging on her waist through the muddiness that was sleep. It'd been a long time since she'd actually regularly slept at nighttime, and her body was enjoying it a lot.

The tugging changed to tapping and shaking on her shoulder, and she hugged her pillow closer, mashing her face into it. She didn't want to get up; if Sakura wanted to get the Anbu squad to wake her, well… bring it on.

Of course, Tori became quite certain that she'd have preferred the Anbu squad to the method that was actually used.

She felt something wet and slimy worm onto her ear, dragging itself along the outer rim. Hot breath bated down on her skin, and she bolted up, shrieking.

She glanced over to see Sasuke withdrawing his tongue, and her first instinct was to grab her pillow and whap him as hard as she could with it.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM GIVING ME A WET WILLIE THIS FUCKING EARLY IN THE MORNING, YOU ASSHOLE?"

Sasuke snatched the pillow from her calmly, as though she did this sort of thing everyday. To be perfectly honest… she kind of did. He glared slightly.

"First off, this isn't your room. Secondly, it's not early at all. It's about noon."

Tori glanced around. Ah, shit… so that whole week hadn't been a dream… she'd been desperately hoping it had.

"Thirdly, what the hell is a Wet Willie?"

Tori rubbed her ear with a disgusted look on her face, "What you just did to me! And don't EVER do it again! That is SO wrong, dude!"

"Then don't be so hard to wake up next time! Now, get up and dress; I've got stuff to do today."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, I gotta run to the store!"

Tori groaned audibly, but crawled after him to prevent the chains from dragging her.

A thought struck her, and she stopped, causing the chains to tug her forward onto Sasuke.

She froze, looking up. She hadn't noticed, but Sasuke had bed head. His pajamas were tussled and tangled around his limbs. The sight made her want to laugh. He looked almost sexy… the thought very quickly left her mind… and kind of normal, for once.

She shook her head, pretending to be straightening her own messy hairstyle as she sat up and regained composure. _'He's a jerk… and don't forget it,'_ she noted.

"Well?" snapped Sasuke, "what is it?"

"I just thought… we can't go out in public!" said Tori, "Not like this, anyway."

She gestured to the chains. Sasuke shook his head, "Why should that stop us? We've been doing it all week."

"Only to meet up with Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura for missions; in front of everyone else, it's totally not right!"

"…How so?" Sasuke noted quietly.

"Uhm… well…"

"You don't want to be seen in public with me?" Sasuke slid towards her, "Chained to me?" His voice grew slightly hushed. Tori almost spat in his face.

"Hell, no! It's repulsive, and humiliating!"

"Oh… well, too bad." Sasuke said, standing up, "I've gotta get food."

"I'd rather starve!"

"You can go ahead and do that, but I don't want to be hungry," said Sasuke, "And seeing as how I want to go and you don't, I guess it's just a matter of who has more strength whether we'll actually be going or not."

Tori glared, "I'm NOT going, and you won't make me!"

"Ok then, I guess you'll just be wearing your pajamas. That may or may not add to your embarrassment… God knows what people would think…"

Tori's face paled. She rushed to the closet, dragging Sasuke behind her, and changed lightning-quick. Sasuke was the stronger one physically, she wouldn't deny it, so in the event that she happened to lose this little battle, at least she'd still have some dignity.

Once out, Sasuke was changed, too.

"Ready to go?"

"I never said I was going quietly," Tori snapped. She marched for the bed, stopping in her tracks when the chains ran out of give.

Sasuke looped an arm around her waist and began dragging her out the door, "Go ahead and pitch a fit if you want; personally, I'm amazed at your change of heart."

Tori glared at him as she struggled to pull herself free, "What're you talking about?"

"At first, you were dead set against coming here. Now, you act as though nothing will pry you out of it. Could it be you've grown so attached to me in so short a time span?" he said in a mock-happy voice.

Tori's glare deepened, "The reasons are different, and you know it!"

Sasuke took the opportunity to bodily lift her from the ground and carry her to the front door, tugging her shoes on, then slipping into his own. Once outside the house, he set her down to lock the door.

Tori pouted the rest of the way to the store. As they walked through the trees towards the village square, her yawns became more and more frequent. Her body was really missing that wonderful sleep…

Sasuke's smirk was evident as he wrapped his arms loosely around her, murmuring in her ear, "If you want, we can go straight back to bed when we get home. I'll close the curtains on the windows… make it nice and dark…"

Tori shoved him away as hard as she could, every repulsive comment she could think of shooting at him through a death glare.

"Get the HELL off of me! If you EVER touch me like that again, I'm yelling rape, got it?"

Sasuke's smirk remained, "Like anyone would believe you…"

Tori sulked. He was right…

Of course, that wasn't going to stop her from trying.

The trip in and out of the store remained painless, save for the very strange looks people gave them.

As they walked home, Tori could swear she saw familiar-looking blue eyes staring at them, and a blonde ponytail whipped out of sight.

When they reached the gates to the property, Sasuke broke the silence.

"There… not so bad, was it?"

Tori glared, "Positively dreadful. Now let's get inside before someone else sees us."

Sasuke sighed, opening the doors, grocery bags in one hand.

Tori wiped sweat off her forehead; it was really hot in the late-afternoon sun. She felt sticky all over as she followed him to the house.

They went into the cool air conditioning, and Sasuke put the food away, turning to Tori.

"Well? What do you wanna do now?"

Tori gave a small smile, "How about you yank out that chess board I saw earlier?"

Sasuke shrugged, "I haven't played against anyone in a long time."

Tori smirked, "Woohoo! Then I get to whip your butt at something! Come on, let's play!"

Sasuke sweat dropped, but consented.

**_A few hours later… _**

Tori sat grumbling furiously on the sofa in Sasuke's living room.

"I can't believe you… coming from behind like that…"

"Hey, it's one of my better talents. Guess I forgot to mention that when I DID play against people, I beat every single one of them," smirked Sasuke, leaning in, "You remember the bet; I win, you have to sleep without that duffel bag in between us tonight."

Tori gawked, "I thought you were just kidding! No one uses a bet like that for something so stupid!"

"If it's so stupid, then why are you making a big deal out of it? You should be happy it wasn't something like 'You have to take off your clothes' or 'You have to kiss me'."

"Well you know I'd never have consented to either of those, you sicko."

"Are you sure?"

Tori stood up angrily, "Of course I'm – WAAH!"

She'd forgotten about the chains, and had snapped back down, landing right on top of Sasuke for the second time that day, and the umpteenth time during the whole training period.

She flew off, a disgusted look on her face, "My God, you reek!"

Sasuke glared and propped himself up on his elbows, "You don't smell much better, Sweaty."

"Hey, YOU wanted to go out, NOT me!"

"Well, the point is, both of us are in need of a bath, it would seem. Pick… the bathtub in my room… or the hot springs."

The look on his face made Tori want to slap him.

"I'll take the tub, thank you."

"Hmm… I wonder how much I'll get for pictures of you naked…"

Tori's cheeks flamed red.

"YOU SICKO! YOU FREAK! HOW DARE YOU!"

She grabbed a cushion and whapped him with it several times. Sasuke snatched it from her and set it down on the sofa. Tori fumed, "YOU can go ahead and be Mr. Nudity, but don't count on me looking! I'll be in the hot springs with my SWIMSUIT on, thank you!"

Sasuke brightened up, "Hey, that's not a bad idea."

Tori shook her head and marched into his room, locking herself in the closet to change into her swimsuit. She grabbed a towel from the shelf, pitching another one out the door to Sasuke so he wouldn't peek in on her to ask for one.

When she came out, he had wrapped his towel around his waist. Tori glared repulsively.

"You're not seriously… not wearing anything under there, are you?" she asked.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, his creepy little smile appearing.

"Wanna check? Be my guest."

She covered her face with a hand, "What did I do to deserve this…?"

Sasuke led her out to the back, where a large hot spring sat. A few smaller ones were dotted around the area, which was jungle-oasis-themed.

It was pretty, Tori thought. The steam from the water added to the effect. She set her towel down on a bench and looked up. The area was screened in to keep bugs and unwanted leaves out. She smiled softly. The Uchihas knew a thing or two about architecture.

She was violently snapped out of her appreciation mode as Sasuke plunged into the spring, dragging her with him.

She came up, spluttering, and Sasuke snickered at her, coming closer, "You like it?"

Tori realized that she still didn't know for sure whether Sasuke was wearing his swimsuit or not, and she backed away. The water felt nice, though, and she eventually settled down enough to just sit quietly. She pulled out her ponytail, letting her light brown hair fall around her in thick waves. She dunked under, lightly scrubbing her face and body with the warm mineral water.

She felt bare skin brush against her thigh, and shot up to glare at Sasuke, who was looking around innocently, his elbows propped on the sides of the spring. Sasuke stretched the leg near hers, and Tori fearfully noticed that too much bare skin was showing on it.

She dunked under again, pretending not to notice.

She couldn't help but dwell on the picture of his bare torso. He had a lot more muscle than his lean frame suggested. Her cheeks darkened slightly, and she furiously ran her fingers through her hair to attempt to dispose of the image… the hot water dripping off his hair and down his skin, his eyes seeming to glow…

Tori almost screamed underwater with trying to get rid of the horrid thoughts that plagued her once those words ran through her mind.

An arm looped around her shoulders, yanking her up.

"Jeez, don't drown yourself on me. How d'you think that'll make me look?"

"Hopefully, no different than what you are; a scummy sleazebag!"

Sasuke's smirk widened, "Your pupils are closing up again."

Tori let out a cry of frustration, "That's IT! Whether you're finished or not, pal, I'M getting out!"

She stood up, only to fall back in; Sasuke also weighed a lot more than his frame suggested… but that was probably the muscle.

It wasn't until she felt two arms snake around her and the unusually-squishy ground shift beneath her that she realized what kind of position she'd fallen into.

She almost couldn't open her eyes, until she realized she was being lifted from the water, "Jeez, you're a real klutz," Sasuke said, stepping out of the spring and setting her on the ground. Tori furiously pushed herself away. Sasuke picked up his towel and started patting his face with it.

Tori couldn't help but let her gaze slide down… and she almost attacked him.

His bathing suit had been on the whole time, he'd rolled up the leg where he'd touched her underwater to make her think he wasn't wearing anything.

Sasuke noticed her staring, "…Disappointed?"

Tori snatched her towel up, "Just in your maturity level."

"Ooo, nice one," Sasuke said sarcastically.

They went back and changed, and Tori climbed into bed, slipping the chain under the duffel bag.

"Ah, ah, ah," said Sasuke, taking the bag and tossing it to the floor. Tori gasped.

"What're you doing?"

"We made a bet, remember? It was your own overconfidence that lost you the game."

"Hey, I think I should…"

"Or, are you not a woman of your word? You make a fuss over such trivial issues…"

Tori glared, "Don't try that on me, buster. I'm getting my bag, now!"

"Oh, dear… what'll the world do with a girl who can't stick with a bet?"

"I've never been a gambler, ok?"

"Until today. Maybe now you know the… well… _dangers_ of it." His smirk, if possible, grew even more deadly.

Tori gritted her teeth, "Fine… but JUST tonight, understand? NEVER again!"

She flopped onto her pillow, arms crossed. Sasuke reached forward and pulled the blankets back over the both of them. Tori grumbled, but pulled them up over her shoulders, rolling over to face away from him.

She wasn't sure how she got to sleep that night, but she had a vague dream that something unusually solid wrapped itself around her, hugging her to a large source of warmth that pressed closely to her back.

For that one night, she felt safer and more secure than she'd ever been in her life… but she wouldn't know why until…

_**The next morning…**_

The calm of the morning gave Konoha Village a peaceful air. Not a soul stirred, apart from the soft chirping of the songbirds.

A light mist wove itself in and out of the trees and buildings, the remnants of the fog being burned away by the rising sun.

Stillness lay over the land, and one would almost deem it to be known as "the calm before the storm"…

"GYAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The birds took off as the silence was shattered by an ear-splitting scream.

Tori lay on the cold, wood floor next to the bed in Sasuke's room, horrified beyond all comparison.

Sasuke groaned next to her, rubbing his head with one hand, and his ear with the other.

Tori had awoken to discover herself in a highly intimate position; Sasuke's arms were clamped firmly around her own, his legs intertwined with hers, his lips resting softly on the nape of her neck.

To just about any other girl in the village, it would've been a dream come true. To Tori… well… welcome to her nightmare.

In her shock, she'd released the earth-shattering shriek heard round the world and flown off the bed, dragging the unfortunate boy with her by the metal bands fastening them together.

Sasuke gave Tori the fiercest glare he could come up with at that time of day as he raised his head from the floor, "And just WHAT the hell was that for?"

Tori rounded on him, fury building up, "You know VERY WELL what that was for, you perverted bastard! How DARE you pull a stunt like that on me!"

Sasuke rubbed his head again, "Jeez, what the hell are you talking about?"

"COMPLETELY taking advantage of the fact that my duffel bag wasn't keeping us apart, that's what!"

Sasuke sighed, "And here I thought you'd like it…"

Tori fumed, "Ok, let's do a little REALITY check here! I do NOT like you! Therefore, how could you POSSIBLY believe that I'd like ANY attempts you make to hit on me, HUH?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth, "I think you should know, MOST girls LIKE it!"

Tori growled, "And I think _you_ should know, I'M NOT MOST GIRLS!"

Sasuke lifted himself onto his hands, moving his face to barely an inch away from Tori's, "YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN! HOW DO I KNOW YOU'RE EVEN A GIRL AT ALL?"

Tori mashed her forehead against his, equally pissed off, "JUST BECAUSE I'M NOT ONE OF YOUR OBSESSED GROUPIES DOESN'T MEAN I'M NOT A GIRL, YOU JERK!"

"YOU SURE AS HELL DON'T ACT LIKE ONE!"

"GIRLS DON'T ALL ACT THE SAME! BOYS, HOWEVER, ARE ALL COMPLETE PIGS WITH NOTHING ON THEIR MINDS BUT SEX, SEX, PRIDE, SEX, TESTOSTERONE, AND MORE SEX!"

"OH, NOW WHO'S BEING STEREOTYPICAL? YOU WANT PROOF THAT I DON'T CONSTANTLY HAVE SEX ON THE BRAIN?"

"I'LL BELIEVE IT WHEN-"

Tori's speech cut off mid-sentence. Sasuke's lips were crushed firmly against hers. His hands pinned her wrists to the side of the bed, and his knees held her ankles down.

A scream almost erupted from her throat, but Sasuke's tongue in her mouth cut it off.

She squirmed, thrashed, twisted, and fought him every way she could. This was wrong! COMPLETELY wrong! Sasuke wasn't supposed to kiss her! Now, this wouldn't have been so bad… save for the fact that Tori found herself enjoying it a bit. _'NO!'_ she inwardly screamed. Sasuke belonged to SAKURA! NOT her!

The bruising make-out session downgraded to a gentle lip massage, and Tori felt her body losing its fight. As she slowly went limp, her eyes closed, and she began to respond to it without thinking. It just felt so nice… his warm body wrapped around hers, his mouth locking her in a passionate kiss…

Unfortunately, she almost went into shock as she heard a loud pop next to them, and instinctively threw Sasuke off, who'd also been startled by the surprise guest.

"Congratulations, you two. You not only exceeded my time expectation, but also my relationship prediction!" said Kakashi cheerfully.

Tori was bright red.

"Wh-WHAT? What're you talking about? Th-there was no…"

Sasuke shrugged.

Kakashi smiled, "In any case, you've completed the exercise. Here you go, as promised…"

He gathered chakra in his hand and laid it on the chains, which dissolved with the bands.

"Why couldn't _we_ do that?" asked Sasuke.

"These chains were encoded to respond to my chakra, and mine only," said Kakashi, "It wouldn't have worked for you."

Tori had remained silent. Sasuke was acting like nothing had happened! He'd just flippin' MADE OUT with her, and he made it look as though he did it every day in front of live audiences!

Kakashi turned to her, "Well, Tori, you can go home now… unless you'd rather stay here? I'd understand, of course, but…"

Go home… the words she'd been dying to hear for the past week… but she couldn't move.

"I think she's in shock," said Kakashi, looking at Sasuke, "I hope you're not involved in that."

Sasuke didn't respond.

Kakashi sighed, "I'll get your things, Tori, if you want to go home… do you? To be honest, I'd rather you stay here for the sake of the exercise, but it _is_ your choice."

Of course she did! But… why was something telling her to stay? She looked up at Sasuke, whose eyes seemed impenetrable, as always, but there was a faint glimmer… it made her heart start beating faster. Had he done something to her?

She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, shaking her head. She wouldn't be controlled by her feelings. If Sasuke was gonna act like that, then she would, too!

"Of course I'm going home!" she said, standing up. A quick glance at Sasuke revealed something puzzling to her… he seemed to be glaring, almost in frustration, but only for a split second.

She turned and stormed into the closet, changing into her clothes. If there was one thing she was NEVER going to do… it was let something like that affect her. She was stronger than that, she told herself. She wouldn't allow Sasuke to think he could win her over with one… pretty amazing… _but still just one_… kiss.

She didn't know what he'd done or why she suddenly felt the way she did, but one thing was for certain. As far as she was concerned… it hadn't happened.

Though, she couldn't help but wonder… this whole week… had it all been a lie? Sasuke's behavior certainly suggested it. He'd probably only advanced on her to make her like him so that Kakashi would release them. It made sense…

And it also pissed Tori off to no end.

_**One week later…**_

Tori sat up in bed, yawning at the bright sunlight. This was the first time she'd been allowed to sleep in for like… ever. Sakura was always banging down her door, or she'd wake up and not be able to go back to sleep. Last week, well… Sasuke always woke her up with rather humiliating methods.

Naruto and Sakura's bickering kept her up some nights, so she wound up avoiding them anyways. They'd been unusually quiet over the past 24 hours, she couldn't really guess why. Maybe Sakura had finally killed him.

She was just glad to be back in her own room. That last week had been nothing but nightmares for her, always keeping on the alert for anything Sasuke would do. In the end, it hadn't helped much. She was still infuriated by the whole ordeal.

Sasuke had just wanted to get out of the chains as badly as she did, so he'd set that whole situation up, made her appreciate him for those few seconds, and Kakashi released them. She couldn't say it hadn't been beneficial… she was happy to be free again… but she felt so used.

So, it came as a huge surprise to her when she suddenly noticed Sasuke sitting on her windowsill, when a split second before, he hadn't.

Her reaction came as a loud scream, which was countered by Sasuke's seemingly favorite mode of silencing: the hand cover.

Wrenching his fingers from her lips, Tori glared at him,

"Just WHAT the hell do you think you're doing here? You have NO right to be in this room, pal!"

Sasuke gave her a look, "Says who?"

"Says the owner: Me."

"I thought you'd be happy to see me; I haven't seen you in a week; you've been avoiding me."

"I have every right to, you know."

"How so?"

"What you did to me; it's not something I can just brush off and forget about. I'm not a heartless, insensitive bastard like you."

"What exactly DID I do to you?"

"You know damn well what you did! It's unforgivable!"

"…Getting us out of the chains?"

"By toying with MY fucking emotions!"

"Who said I was toying?"

"I did, by the way you just acted like… like it… like it hadn't happened at all!"

"Oh, so you wanted me to get all flustered and out of breath about it like you did?"

"At least SOME reaction would've been nice!"

"And giving it away to Kakashi?"

"He already knew what you'd done!"

"I don't see how that gives me a reason to overreact about it."

"…You are so unbelievable… just leave, will you? I want another day to rest from your stupid shenanigans…"

"You've already been staying at home for an entire week. Why don't you come out and spend some time in the sun? I don't see how I've been THAT bad."

"What YOU did gives me reason to stay at home for the next six months!"

"Just get up, will you?"

"Why the hell do you think I should listen to you? What on Earth gives you the right to think you can suddenly order me around?"

"You're mine now; that's why."

Tori remained silent for about thirty seconds afterwards, staring at the boy in complete shock.

"…Say… WHAAAAAT? WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET AN IDEA LIKE-"

Sasuke once again closed her mouth with one hand.

"AND STOP TOUCHING ME!"

"To answer your question," began Sasuke, "The fact that I kissed you, and you liked it, implies that we share the same feelings about each other; therefore, we should be together."

"Wha… WHO SAID THAT I ENJOYED IT?"

"It was pretty easy to tell, besides, you seemed to also enjoy the little activities we did during our week together."

"That was the worst torture ever! I hope you rot in Hell for making me undergo that! D'you have ANY idea how many hours I spent washing my mouth out?"

"Exactly zero, why do you ask?"

"Wha-WHAT? Were you WATCHING me?"

"In a sense; I checked up on you every once in a while, if that's what you mean."

"Wait…"

"The point is," interrupted Sasuke, "we should go on a walk. It's nice out today, and you look like you could use some sunshine."

"I'm not going anywhere with you! And if you try to make me, I'll call Sakura's mom up here and have her and Mr. Haruno throw you out!"

Sasuke seated himself on the bed comfortably.

"Then I'm not leaving until you come with me."

"Fine… if that's how you wanna play…"

Tori took a deep breath, readying to scream for Mrs. Haruno, when suddenly a pair of lips sealed her mouth shut and cut off the call.

Tori freaked. She twisted and thrashed, trying to push him off of her with her arms, but his wrapped around her waist and upper back, pulling her body into his and effortlessly crushing her futile attempts to escape.

Once more, she felt the warm, relaxing sensation starting to spread through her, as Sasuke gently shifted both of them down onto the pillows.

Tori felt herself caving. Oh no, Sasuke was doing it again! She couldn't get him off… and she found it becoming tremendously hard to keep resisting. Sasuke had her ensnared; she couldn't fight him!

Suddenly, she heard a sound that came like the hallelujah chorus: footsteps up the stairs.

Sasuke broke away from her, looking at the door. They were fast approaching the room they were in, and Sasuke turned to look at her.

Tori met his gaze to give him a triumphant smirk, but her eyes instead were caught in a sudden red vortex; a voice whispered to her gentle commands, and she agreed mentally without question.

Before she knew it, she was once more looking at Sasuke's face, which quickly vanished as he leapt onto the windowsill, climbing out onto the roof, and turning to wink quickly at her before disappearing.

Tori glared after him as Mrs. Haruno opened the door softly.

"Sweetie? Are you all right? I heard you talking in your sleep," she said, speaking as though to one who has just woken up.

Tori immediately went ballistic, telling her how Sasuke had leapt into her room, completely taking advantage of her mentally, physically, and verbally, and leaving just as she'd arrived.

Mrs. Haruno gave Tori questioning glances, before a gentle smile emerged.

"Oh dear, it sounds like you just had a nightmare… or was it a good dream?" She shook her head softly, "And here I thought you were going to leave that Uchiha boy to my little Sakura."

"No, you don't understand, I DON'T like him! He IS Sakura's! It wasn't a dream! He likes me, but he can't take the fact that I don't like HIM! I'm telling the truth!"

"Now, now, sweetie, I think you've been out of the sun for too long. You should go for a walk; it'll do you good."

Tori felt herself about to say no, when a sudden third party overrode it. The voice came back, gently whispering, _'No, you want to go on this walk. You want to feel the warm sun on your skin; it's been far too long, hasn't it?' _

"Sure…" Tori muttered, half-dazed, "I think I will."

"Oh, good! Now, hurry and get dressed. I've made you a light breakfast; I figure you shouldn't eat too much after having almost nothing this past week."

Tori nodded again, and pulled on her clothes, eating quickly and heading out the door.

It was a nice day; she had to admit as she walked down the street. She didn't know why, but her feet were subconsciously heading towards the park. There weren't any kids present; they were all in school that day. Speaking of which, Tori wondered how Sakura and Naruto were getting on; she hadn't heard from them all day. She went and absentmindedly sat on the swing set, gently prodding the ground with her feet.

Suddenly, a shadow blocked the sun over her, and she whirled her head around to see Sasuke standing there, a cool smirk on his features.

An instinctive glare overcame Tori's.

"I'm glad you took my suggestion," said Sasuke, as his hands brushed hers on the way down to grip her wrists gently.

Tori tugged them away and kept them out of his reach, "It's only because Mrs. Haruno asked me to, dumbass," she responded coldly.

"Why so tense? I only want to spend time with you," he said, coming around to stand in front of her, his face inches from hers.

"I don't know why you suddenly think we're a unit, but we're not, so get it out of your head," snapped Tori, leaning back from him.

"Oh, but we are. Did you not feel the connection we had, especially when I kissed you?"

"No, I guess I must've missed it due to your horrible make-out skills."

"You're lying again; you shouldn't do that."

"I don't think you're in a position to declare what I should and shouldn't do, asshole."

"I think I am…"

"And I think you need to stop contradicting every fucking thing I say!"

"Do we need another chain-up session? I can schedule one with Kakashi… how's next week for you?"

"YOU HORRIBLE JACKASS! WHERE DO YOU GET THE NERVE?"

Tori jumped up, roughly pushing the boy out of her way and stomping off the playground into the trees.

Fuming, she marched on, hoping to reach her special spot to relax. She hadn't been able to in weeks.

She reached it quickly enough, and slid down into the roots of her favorite tree, sighing heavily. Sasuke was the last thing she needed right now…

But he seemed to be nearby. Tori couldn't tell, but she thought she caught the faintest scent of him. At first, she thought it was probably her clothes with his stench on them, but the sudden eerie silence immediately made her rethink it.

Standing up, she looked around cautiously. No sign of him, but it was just the foreboding atmosphere… it was seriously creeping her out.

She stepped towards the pond, wondering how quietly she could slip into the water to hide. She slid off her shoes and carefully concealed them in some tall grass before lowering herself into the water, swimming downwards towards the bottom. The pond was probably the most random place she could think to hide, but with Sasuke, you just didn't have that many options.

She stopped, looking back up at the surface for any sign of movement. With any luck, she could stay down long enough to flush him out; he'd think she was trying to drown herself or something.

But as she floated around, a faint glimmer caught her eye. Looking down, she saw something sticking out from one of the large, flat stones that covered the bottom. She swam towards it, pulling the stone aside with some difficulty to discover something that she would've gasped about had she not been underwater.


	11. New Jewelry

**SUMMARY: **Tori finds a necklace that intrigues her, but she's forced once more into a tug-of-war with Sasuke over her heart. His attempts don't seem to be working for a while, until Tori discovers something that causes her to understand him a bit more. Has Sasuke won, or will Tori continue to keep him at arm's length, even after this heartbreaking realization?

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 11: New Jewelry and More Seduction**

Tori's eyes widened considerably at her discovery.

A beautiful necklace lay half-buried in the sand under the rock. Picking it up, Tori shook it to get the dirt off and discovered it to be a half-dollar-sized blue crystal chiseled into the shape of a heart. It glistened beautifully in the light, and was attached to a thick silver chain, which was the part that had been sticking out from under the rock.

Tori admired its beauty as it radiated in the sun rays, but suddenly, the light was cut off.

She looked up to see a dark shape shooting towards her, and only had enough time to stuff the necklace in her bra before her arms were grabbed, and she was dragged to the surface.

She gasped for air as she broke the water; she hadn't realized she was almost out of oxygen down there, and her 'savior' pulled her out of the water, sitting her up in her root formation against the tree.

"What the hell… were you doing… down there?" panted Sasuke, "d'you have any idea how worried I got?"

"Serves… you right…" responded Tori, glaring.

Sasuke returned the look, and straddled her, pinning her shoulders against the trunk.

"You've got to calm down," he said, "You always do that, winding yourself up and getting angry at me for the smallest things. We're in a nice place… so just relax, will you?"

She was about to retort, when the voice popped into her mind again as she noticed Sasuke's eyes take on that familiar red pattern, _'Here's an even better idea… you should just go to sleep… you need it…'_

A small smirk appeared for a split second on Sasuke's features, but it vanished quickly. Tori didn't, and couldn't, notice. Her eyes were closing, and her body was refusing to respond to her very feeble desires to look away.

As soon as she lapsed into a weak enough state that she couldn't move at all, Sasuke slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, lowering his face near hers, and kissing her softly. Upon the breaking of it, Tori fell forward onto him, unable to stay awake.

Sasuke sat in front of her, blocking her escape from the roots, but as Tori lay there, entwined in his arms, she found herself thinking, completely without outside suggestion, _'This feels… kinda nice…'_

**_A few hours later…_**

Everything was fuzzy when Tori's eyes opened, but she recognized the familiar ceiling at once. Groaning, she realized where she was. She rubbed her forehead, trying to remember what happened. She'd found the necklace which, after slightly shifting, she discovered was still hidden safely in her shirt. Nothing else came to mind; she couldn't remember falling asleep.

"You're awake."

She saw Sasuke leaning against the doorway, looking the same as he always did, except for the fact that his hair was damp, and his scent was… unbelievably irresistible.

She threw on her glare to mask her most recent thoughts, and snapped back, "If you drugged me or something, there'll be Hell to pay later, buster!"

She tried to sit up, only to find a hand planting itself firmly below her neck and shoving her back down. Sasuke's eyes never left hers.

"If you must know, you decided to go for a dip and stayed under too long. I managed to find you right when you passed out, and had I not been there, you wouldn't be on this Earth right now."

Tori's glare faltered slightly, but she retorted, "Why do I get the feeling that that's not what really happened?"

Sasuke leaned in very close, his hair falling around her face, "Do you have any proof that suggests otherwise?"

Tori remained silent. Sasuke smirked, "Didn't think so. I believe thanks are in order; being my slave forever would about do it."

"Screw you."

Tori tried to sit up again, but Sasuke once more held her down. Tori's eyes met his; he was serious about keeping her where she was.

"You're not strong enough to get up. Lack of oxygen's probably weakened all of your muscles." Sasuke gained the air of someone who knew what he was talking about. _'Bullshit…'_ Tori couldn't help thinking to herself. Sasuke just wanted an excuse.

She glanced around desperately. Time for a bit of her ninja training to come into play…

A pillow lay near the door. Tori relaxed her body slightly to give Sasuke the impression she was surrendering. Her hands formed the signs for a replacement jutsu under the covers. Within seconds, Sasuke was holding down a pillow, and Tori was out the door, slamming it behind her and stuffing one of her kunai knives into it to hold it shut.

She threw the front door open and took off down the street, racing for the gates. Sasuke wouldn't find it hard to catch her once he broke out of his room; she tried to get as much of a head-start as possible.

She reached the gates, panting, and tried to push them open. No luck; they apparently locked themselves when shut, and she'd forgotten to grab the key.

'_Crap… this is bad…'_ she thought. Now, she didn't care if Sakura found out about Sasuke. She wanted out of here, now.

She cupped her hands around her mouth, about to yell for help, when she heard, very faintly, her name being called. The sound of Sasuke's voice nearly made her heart stop; the jerk was playing with her. If he caught her, she was done for!

She turned to the left and bolted into the rows of houses, following the giant fence surrounding the area. She stopped at a random alley and headed down it, seeing a door to one of the houses and hurrying inside, closing it as softly as she could behind her.

She slid down the wall, panting hard. She hoped it'd take him a while to find her; it'd give her a good chance to find a different hiding place, or just run for it. But where would she go? She couldn't leave.

She looked around when she'd caught her breath. The house she'd chosen for a hiding place was very gloomy and dusty. Barely any light came through the grimy window. A few items were broken here and there. Tori noticed some rusty kunai and shuriken stuck in the walls. There'd been a struggle here, a long time ago, it seemed.

She stood up and wandered around, opening doors. The front room was the only one where the fight had been, apparently. Everything else looked like the people who'd been living there just vanished. Newspapers, food dishes, they were scattered about as though the family would one day just come home and resume living.

It was then that she noticed on the floor in the front room: faint white outlines on the floor. Dark brown areas lay near them. Tori realized with horror that these were the body outlines of the dead family. From the sizes of them, the family was a mom, a dad, and two small children. The father's lay near the front door, whereas the mother and two children were near the back wall.

Tori swallowed hard, tears coming to her eyes. The father had tried to stand up to the killer to protect his family… and they had all perished.

Tori looked back in one of the bedrooms with two small beds. The assortment of toys laying around suggested that one child was a boy, and the other a girl.

She stepped back, her mouth covered, as a few tears spilled over. The house's silence gave it the atmosphere of something waiting for life to return to normal. But it never would… the family wasn't coming back.

Sasuke had had to live with this… he'd had to come home to see this… his friends, family, relatives… their blood spattered everywhere, their eyes lifeless.

She shook her head hard and ran out of the house into the street. It was just like her family… one day, when she was seven, she'd come home from a field trip at school to discover her parents and younger sister lying outside with the ambulance, bloody and dead. She'd run inside, ignoring the policemen, to find her older brother on the floor, a deep gash in his chest.

He was breathing, but just barely. She'd knelt down, tears spilling from her eyes. He looked up at her, and a small smile appeared on his face.

"_Victoria… I taught you better than that… don't… cry…" _

His words now echoed through her mind, and she screamed, trying to fight them back down. Not now, not after all she'd done to forget it…

Like a broken dam, the tears flooded from her eyes as she remembered his eyes lose their sparkle… the brown eyes that matched her own… they became dull, white, and empty.

She felt herself being pulled up by her shoulders, and suddenly, two arms were around her, and a voice was crooning in her ear.

She pushed herself back, seeing Sasuke's worried face. His hands gripped her wrists, but she wrenched them free, and instead of trying to hit him, she threw them around his neck, crying.

"How…" she sobbed, "how can you stand this?"

Sasuke looked up and noticed the open door of the house, and understood what she'd seen.

"It's not easy…" he said, "but you know… when you came along, it helped me get my mind off it. I don't know why, but when I first met you, I couldn't get you out of my mind. You acted so differently from the other girls… you were the only one of them in the whole village who wouldn't tail me everywhere I went, and write me annoying love letters. You were the only one who didn't treat me like a god… like a prodigy… like my older brother…"

Tori's head rose, "You… had a brother?"

"Yeah, but I'd rather not talk about him. The point is, Tori, that's the reason. That's why I like you. You always… treat me like… like somebody on your own level, not someone to be feared, respected, or worshipped. I mean, any other girl I tried those things with wouldn't protest at all, but you didn't stop fighting. You're strong that way, and it's a bit of a turn-on, to tell you the truth."

Tori remained silent. Sasuke tightened his arms around her.

"Hey, come on… it's nothing to worry about…" he tried. Tori still didn't speak.

He sighed. How to snap her out of it…

His hands slid lower, "Hmm… you've been working on this since the last time we met, haven't you?" he sneered.

A whack signaled that Tori had returned. She sat back, a small glare on her face, "You know, I'll still say no to being your girlfriend, should you happen to ask."

Sasuke looked down, "Well… I can't exactly have a girlfriend right now… though it would make my life easier, no doubt…"

Tori looked at him quizzically, "Then what the hell was with all the seduction and wooing?"

"We don't have to be official boyfriend and girlfriend to know we care about each other," said Sasuke, "I wanted to make sure you felt the same about me."

"Well, honestly, I didn't," said Tori, "but I think I've really gotten to know you a bit better… so, I think I'm liking what I'm seeing… THINK."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Want me to get rid of that think?"

"No… I've got so much to do, Sasuke… I've gotta become a jounin, and…"

"And I've gotta… well, you know."

"Yeah… so…"

"Like I said, we don't have to be official," said Sasuke, "being official would be too much work for both of us."

Tori nodded, "So, this'll be it, and then we return to our normal lives."

"Well, don't be surprised if I drop in on you from time to time. I get lonely, too, ya know."

Tori smiled, "That's fine by me."

And so, Tori headed home with Sasuke following, and they arrived at the Harunos' front steps.

"So… I guess this is it…" she said, looking down.

Sasuke scratched his head awkwardly, "Yeah… uhm… but… before we never have any romantic associations again…"

He grabbed her up into his arms, kissing her passionately. Tori felt the familiar melting sensation, and slid a hand into his hair. His tongue slipped into her mouth, gently playing with hers. His lips caressed her, and she figured this kiss was probably the best one in… forever.

So, it was a real shame when the front door flew open, causing Tori to throw Sasuke back with one arm. She mouthed a quick sorry to him as Sakura came flying out the door, attaching herself to the unfortunate girl.

"TORI! IT'S A MIRACLE! I'M FREE!"

Naruto came to the front door, looking like he hadn't slept a wink in months, and very sad to boot.

Tori noticed this, "Naruto?"

Sakura sighed, "He's upset that we're not chained anymore, even though I gave him as much hell as I could."

"You were digging your own grave. Sasuke and I were freed after the first week; what'd it take you guys, a month?"

"Hey, he's VERY hard to get along with! He's got the WORST hygiene habits, and his house was a COMPLETE disaster! And it was TWO WEEKS!"

"That's not what you said last night…" said Naruto slyly.

"Ohh… you two got it on, didn't you?" said Tori, smirking devilishly.

"NARUTO!" Sakura pounded him on the head.

Naruto sighed, "As soon as we're free, she reverts to that…"

Sakura had stopped. "Oh, hi, Sasuke-kun…" Her blushing started up. Sasuke looked at Tori, but she gave him the 'you're on your own' smile and hopped inside. Just because they'd kissed a few times didn't mean she still had to treat him like her boyfriend.

After all, they weren't official.


	12. Finally! A Dangerous Mission!

**SUMMARY: **Tori has begun to unravel the secrets of the necklace she found, but her relationship with Sasuke takes a dive-bomb when she discovers that he's been controlling her the whole time! Also, a tense situation very nearly gives away what Tori's been trying to hide from Sakura, and Naruto's complaining finally pays off to give Team 7 its first real mission: protect a bad-tempered old bridge builder named Tazuna!

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 12: Finally! A Dangerous Mission!**

Tori twirled the necklace on one finger as she walked towards her special spot after training one day. There wasn't anything unusual about it; Sakura claimed it was very beautiful, and she'd never shown it to Sasuke or Naruto.

It was pretty, no doubt about that. The sunlight seemed to make it sparkle, but as Tori was washing her hands the night before, the necklace had fallen into the water, and she couldn't help but notice it slightly glow. She figured it was her imagination, but she wanted to test it out at the place where she'd found it.

She sat down at the edge of the pond and dipped it into the water. Just like the night before, it glowed, but only slightly.

As Tori extended her arm further underwater, she saw it brighten more and more. She sat up and took her shoes off, clipping it around her neck to dive down under the water. Just as she suspected, the farther down she went, the more light was emitted from it.

When she was about six feet underwater, the necklace suddenly gave out an enormous pulsing wave. Tori's eyes widened as the light spewed forth, wrapping around her arms and legs. Bubbles swirled around her in a vortex, and she tried to kick to the surface, suddenly realizing that she couldn't move her legs.

She knew no one would hear her, but she let go of her breath, screaming, "HEELLP!"

She froze. Her voice… she heard it… underwater!

She tried to kick to the surface as the light and bubbles faded, but she felt like her legs had been cemented together. She looked down, and screamed… yes, underwater.

Her legs had molded together into a beautiful, rosy-colored mermaid tail. The flukes were a transparent pink-pearl color. She ran a hand down the tail. Scales…

She gasped, and realized she could breathe, but it wasn't exactly through her throat… more like the outside of her neck. She felt slits on each side with her fingers. Did she have… gills?

She shook her head violently. This wasn't possible! She had to be dreaming!

She looked at her neck, where the heart was still glowing brightly. This was the cause…

She reached behind her for the clip to the chain to take it off. She'd just put the necklace back… and maybe the tail would go away.

Her fingers felt nothing but the actual chain. The clip was gone!

"Uh oh…" she said out loud. She couldn't take it off! She yanked at the chain, and tried to pull it over her head, but it was too small, and… unfortunately for her… too strong.

"What is this, titanium?" she asked.

Suddenly, she heard, above the water, a muffled voice. It wasn't too clear, but she still made out her name.

She listened again, and realized immediately who it was.

"Crap! It's Sasuke!" she whispered. She couldn't let him see her, not like this!

She could see him approaching the surface, and as he did, she could hear him better,

"Oh, hiding underwater again? That's getting kind of old, don't you think?"

She darted down, searching for a hiding place. A large rock sat nearby, but he'd be able to look behind it. She decided to try to push it near the slope of the pond bottom and see if she could at least hide her tail behind it.

She gave her tail a good kick when she'd put her hands on it, and managed to budge it slightly. Kicking harder, she was barely able to slide it along, when she noticed a large hole in the wall.

She darted inside just as she heard a splash at the surface; Sasuke was in the water! She looked around and saw that it was a cave of some sort. Up at the top, she saw ripples, meaning there was an air pocket in there. She swam up to it, sticking her hand out of the water to see that the ceiling was actually about two feet off the water at the highest point.

Suddenly, she felt the bubbles starting up again, and her tail once more split into two, forming her legs, and the gill slits disappeared off of her neck.

Her breath was cut off underwater, and she stuck her head above the surface, gasping for air. She was normal! She was back to normal!

She sighed in relief. She thought she was gonna be stuck like that forever… but what had caused it?

Then she remembered… when the necklace had glowed brightly at about a six foot depth was when she'd transformed. She'd come up to the surface, so the necklace must've changed her back.

'_So basically… as long as I stay above six feet underwater, I'm safe…'_ she thought. But what about when she had to go back? She didn't think there was another way besides diving down to the bottom.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her ankle, causing her to scream, and tugged her underwater, bringing her nose-to-nose with Sasuke.

She squeaked and pushed him away, jumping to the surface.

Sasuke came up, a small glare on his face.

"Well, I've found your little secret…" he said, backing her up against the wall.

Tori paled, "Secret? What secret? I don't know any secrets! I leave the gossiping to Sakura!" She didn't know where that last line came from, but hopefully, it'd throw him off.

He brought his face close, "I didn't think you were capable of such a feat, but now I know your trick."

Tori tried to move away, but he placed an arm on each side of her.

"Wh-what're you talking about?" she managed to stutter out. He knew about the necklace, and he'd probably tell everyone in the village that she was a freak who turned into a mermaid. She was done for…

"This cavern. You can catch your breath in here, and look like you're a fish or something to someone else," he said, slightly smiling, "I'm impressed."

Tori blinked. Had he really just said that?

"Oh, ehh… you like it?" She laughed nervously, "Yeah, I found it one day, and thought it made a very nice hiding place."

"And it _did_…" said Sasuke, moving even closer.

Tori noticed he used the past tense, and blushed.

"Ehh… sh-shouldn't we be getting somewhere?" she stammered.

Sasuke pressed his body up against hers, "Like where? I've been missing you. My house has been really quiet without your yelling… it's kind of lonely."

"If you're telling me to come live with you, the answer is no."

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not…"

"What about Naruto …and Sakura?"

"What about them?"

"Don't we need to be meeting them for something?"

"If you're asking about Kakashi's summoning, it's not for another four hours… just calm down, will you? You're acting like you did when you first came to my house."

"Well you DID kinda sneak up on me… and now you're… well…" she blushed; she couldn't put it into words.

"What, you don't like it?" asked Sasuke, putting his mouth up near her ear.

Tori wanted to say she did, but she didn't want him to think she was this weak.

"No, I don't. Now, get off me," she said, trying to push him off.

His arms suddenly reached around and grabbed her, and his voice dropped to a whisper, "I thought I told you to quit lying… do I have to _reeducate_ you on that subject?"

Accidentally, Tori glanced at his eyes as he pulled away slightly, and the voice came back, but this time, it was coming from Sasuke's mouth,

'_It's quite simple… just tell me the truth…' _

Her eyes became locked in his once again, and she felt her mouth and voice speak,

"Yes… I'm enjoying this… sorry for lying to you…"

He broke the contact, and Tori's senses returned.

"There you go, that wasn't hard, was it?" he asked, lifting her chin.

Tori gave him a small glare, "What did you just do?"

Sasuke looked at her quizzically, "What do you mean?"

"Don't fuck around;" she said softly, "Did you just _hypnotize_ me?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Why does it matter?"

Tori's eyes widened, "So… that's been you the whole time, telling me what to do?"

Sasuke's expression changed to one of realization, "Tori… I thought you knew…"

"How could I have known? It sounds nothing like you! I thought it was an inner voice or something! You set me up!"

He tried to tighten his grip on her, but she pushed him roughly away.

"Tori, you've gotta understand…"

"Understand what? That my feelings are just something to be programmed and messed with? You played me straight into your sick hands!"

She glared fiercely at him, and felt the ligress stir. She hadn't been this angry in weeks… she'd been in a false romantic bliss with a twisted maniac who was gonna pay for messing with her!

A growl resonated from her throat, and Sasuke frowned.

"You're gonna get mad at me for a little genjutsu?"

"I never would've even _considered_ you had it not been for that! This has all been a huge trick!"

"Tori, it's not like that! I just made a few small suggestions…"

"That I couldn't ignore if I tried!"

"That's your fault for having such weak mental defenses, not mine."

That did it. Tori leapt forward, sinking her teeth into Sasuke's arm, causing him to yelp in surprise and pain. In the confusion, she dove down as fast as she could, feeling the tail reemerge as she passed six feet. She sped out of the cave, shooting for the surface. Sasuke could beat her in speed on land, but in the water, he was the diver, and she was the dolphin, especially now with this boost from the mermaid tail.

She barely managed to transform back before she turned to see him dart out of the cave, clutching his arm, a clearly-pissed-off look on his face. She broke the surface, clambering out and running for it. Where could she hide? Once he got out of the water, she'd have no chance.

Panting, she forced her legs to at least try to move faster. Where was that speed when she needed it? The ligress had recently decided that it would permit the use of its gifts whenever it felt like it. Apparently, right now, it wasn't in the mood.

She didn't think she'd make it to the Harunos', or even back to town, for that matter, but maybe there'd be a good tree to hide in or something.

She searched frantically, not noticing where she was going, until she happened to collide with someone right in the middle of a clearing.

She sat up, groaning as she looked at the pissed-off face, her own expression suddenly brightening.

"NARUTO!"

She leapt forward and latched onto the poor boy, who turned from angry to extremely confused.

"Tori? What's going on here? Why the hell are you soaking wet?"

"Long story, but the point of it is: HIDE ME!"

"From who?"

"There… you are…"

Tori squeaked and dove behind Naruto as she heard Sasuke's voice. Naruto glared at him and stood up.

"Naruto, just leave. This isn't your business," said Sasuke.

"Why're you bleedin', tough guy?" taunted Naruto.

"I said leave!"

"You get injured and you're gonna take it out on your girlfriend, is that it?"

Tori piped up, "I'm NOT his girlfriend!"

Sasuke snarled, "Yes, you are, now get your ass over here!"

"I AM NOT! Don't think you can order _me_ around, you jerk! YOU'RE the one who said we're NOT official!"

Naruto stood there, confused, "Whoa, wait, I was only kidding when I said… are you serious?" he looked at Tori, "You and Sasuke…"

Tori glared, "NO! Sasuke only THINKS we are!"

"You're only this tough because you're hiding behind Naruto! You wouldn't stand a chance if he wasn't here!" snapped Sasuke.

"Stand a chance against what? Were you gonna beat me up?" quipped Tori.

"You bit me, and I deserve some repentance, or at least an apology!"

"HELL NO! You brought that on yourself! Just get away from me, and STAY away from me, got it? I don't EVER wanna speak to you again!"

"Uhm… you guys?" came a voice.

Tori's heart dropped into her stomach.

Sakura came into the clearing, "Oh, Sasuke, you're bleeding! What happened? You're all wet, too!"

She ran over to him, and Tori paled, shaking her head. This was awful, if Sasuke did anything to hint at what had really been going on…

Sasuke stepped back from her, glaring, "Don't touch me…"

A pained look crossed Sakura's face, and Tori wanted to scream. This was terrible! Sasuke was _still_ treating Sakura like dirt, and he'd reveal their relationship, which would hurt her even more! She'd probably never speak to her again!

Well, maybe if she explained that it was all Sasuke's fault… no, she couldn't shift the blame. One, Sakura wouldn't believe her, and two, it was her fault for being so weak.

Suddenly, she was dragged roughly to her feet by her arm, and she looked, horrified, to see Sasuke pulling her up next to him, his other arm winding itself around her waist. He was giving Sakura a look, the kind that says, 'Do you see? I'm taken, so buzz off.'

Maintaining that shocked expression, she did what came first instinct to her… and for the first time since she'd met Sasuke Uchiha… she was able to knee him straight in the balls.

As he collapsed to the ground, moaning in pain, she felt her face contort in such pride and anger that she almost felt like spitting on him, but instead snapped, "Don't touch me like we're familiar. As far as I'm concerned, I barely know you."

As Sakura ran over to tend to the boy, Tori hoped to God it had worked. If not, she'd make something up tonight. After that hit, Sasuke probably wouldn't be able to talk for the next hour or so.

_**Three hours later…**_

Tori had changed into dry clothes and hurried to the mission office, where Team 7 would be receiving its next assignment. She sighed, exasperated. Another babysitting job, probably… or pulling weeds… or walking dogs… or search-and-rescue missions for pets… either way, it was getting seriously boring.

She arrived to see Sakura and Naruto already there, but naturally, Kakashi was late. Strangely, Sasuke was, too.

'_Bet he's licking his wounds like a dog…'_ Tori thought angrily. Served him right.

Sakura was quiet. Tori couldn't help but think, worriedly, that she'd suspected something when Sasuke had pulled his little stunt.

Naruto was huffing angrily, starting a rant about how late Kakashi was, and of the fact that even Sasuke was slacking off today. Apparently, he'd completely forgotten about the earlier incident.

Tori went over and sat next to Sakura, sighing.

Sakura looked up at her after a few minutes, her gaze hard.

"Tori?"

"Yeah?"

"Why were you wet, too?"

Tori felt herself growing pale, but hurriedly thought of something, "Well… you see, Sasuke and I were arguing near a pond, and I pushed him in, but he, in trying to stop his fall, grabbed me, too… and that kinda…"

"Oh…" Sakura didn't sound convinced. "So… what was that all about, when he came up next to you like that?"

"What? Oh, you mean how he was pulling that whole thing? Naruto and I were just screwing around. We… erm… wanted to see your reaction if he made it look like he'd gotten with someone else. We all set it up… except… I accidentally kicked him. It's a reflex of mine."

She scratched her head sheepishly.

Sakura's expression turned into a soft smile, to Tori's immense relief, "I thought that might be it. I know Sasuke doesn't like anyone in that way, and you don't like him at all. But still… he doesn't normally do things like…"

"Naruto and I made him do it!" Tori piped up quickly.

Sakura paused, and giggled, "Wow, I guess that was pretty funny. Though, you didn't have to go and hurt my Sasuke like that."

"Like I said, reflex."

Tori felt her heart beating heavily, as though it was recovering. She couldn't blame it; Sakura came pretty close to discovering the truth…

Sasuke walked up, hands in his pockets. Sakura turned and yelled at Naruto to stop him from trying to sneak off, and while she wasn't looking, Tori was forced to endure possibly the scariest glare in history.

His eyes really appeared to be on fire, and the gaze was so penetrating, Tori thought she could feel even the deepest cracks of her mind getting scorched.

When he looked away, she couldn't help but slightly smirk with satisfaction, even while she was still recovering. With any luck at all, he'd never speak to her again.

"Hello, children!" came the all-too-cheery voice as Kakashi appeared right behind where Tori and Sakura sat.

Both screamed and leapt up.

"I hope you're ready for our next assignment," he said, disregarding the reaction completely and turning to head into the office.

The kids followed him routinely, Tori and Sakura doing breathing exercises to calm their racing hearts. It was always like this; wait hours for him to show, get scared half to death, then receive a back-breaking, mind-dulling job.

They came into the office, and the Hokage sat at the desk, clipboard in hand.

"Ah, Team 7. You have a special assignment today…"

Tori perked up.

"The local daimyo's wife has lost her cat, Tiger, and it is the highest urgency that it be found as soon as possible."

The four team members slumped. Yep… ordinary day…

_**An hour later…**_

"OHH, my little PRECIOUS! You had me so worried!"

Tori watched painfully as the cat was crushed by his owner's hug. It had been mainly her to attract the cat nearby; it was a thing of hers. Naruto and Sasuke had their doubts, but Sakura had lived with the girl long enough to know that cats gravitated towards her. Once the cat was close enough, Naruto had pounced. For a little guy, he had incredible reflexes.

The Hokage picked up his clipboard, "Now, for the less urgent tasks… baby-sit for the council of elders…" Tori winced, "run errands for a village nearby… help one of our farmers with his sweet potatoes…"

"ALL RIGHT! THAT'S IT!" yelled Naruto, jumping up, despite the numerous scratches on his arms and face, "I WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT! GIVE US A REAL MISSION, OLD MAN!"

Tori looked up. He'd voiced her thoughts exactly.

Iruka, seated next to the Hokage, stood up, "Naruto! Show some respect, and be grateful for what you get! You're not experienced enough to do anything else! When you get stronger, THEN you can get something exciting!"

Tori noticed Sakura nod agreeably. She knew why; Sakura had given her this same lecture a few weeks ago, actually.

Kakashi whapped the boy on the head, turning to the Hokage, "I'm very sorry, I'll try to keep him under control…"

"Very well then, Naruto."

The five of them fell silent. The Hokage smiled, "I will allow you to try a C-ranked mission. Usually, only chuunin are allowed these. You will have to protect someone…"

"A princess?" asked Naruto excitedly.

"Send him in," said Iruka.

The door slid open. Tori couldn't believe her ears. Naruto's complaining had actually benefited them; they were gonna do a real mission!

She peered at the opening to discover an old man with a straw hat and sake bottle in hand step through, eyeing them.

"What a bunch of pipsqueaks," he said, glaring, "That shrimp looks like an idiot."

Naruto laughed, "Wow, wonder who he was talking about?"

Tori, Sasuke, and Sakura moved next to him to show him the height difference. His expression soured immediately, and he charged.

"I'LL SHOW HIM IDIOTIC SHRIMP!"

"No, Naruto," said Kakashi, snagging the boy by his jacket, "No attacking the client."

"The name's Tazuna," said the man, straightening up, "I'm a famous bridge builder from the Land of Waves, and I expect every one of you to protect me with your lives, got it?"


	13. First Freedom

**(A/N:) Sorry for the outrageously long update time. Summer sucks in the fact that I'm going through my develop-social-life period, so I spent most of my time outdoors. I got a nice tan, and I think I've lost some weight! Anywho, here's Chapter 13, finally. Enjoy!**

**SUMMARY: **An exciting journey has begun, particularly for Tori and Naruto, who haven't left the village in a long time; in Naruto's case, never. Unfortunately, the journeys of a ninja are never peaceful, and Team 7 is about to learn that lesson the hard way… when confronted by their two first real ninja battles. They'll soon discover it's not all that easy to fight in this world… especially when their very lives are on the line!

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 13: First Freedom**

"ROAD TRIP, BABY!" yelled Naruto and Tori simultaneously as the gates to the village opened.

Kakashi grabbed Tori by the arm before she burst through the gap joyously, "Aren't we forgetting something?" he asked.

Tori paused, "…Sorry, I dunno."

Kakashi pressed a finger to the silver bracelet still clipped to her wrist, focusing a little chakra onto it. It clicked open, and he handed it to the guard.

Tori blinked, rubbing her hand. She'd forgotten about it… she hadn't made any escape attempts for about three years now, so it'd virtually become unnecessary.

Sakura glared at Naruto as he bounced around happily, "What're YOU so excited about?"

"I've never left the village before!" he chirped, looking around.

Tazuna narrowed his eyes, "I'm supposed to depend on THIS kid for my well-being?"

Kakashi sweat dropped, "Don't worry; I'm a jounin, and I'll be coming, too."

Naruto rounded on the man and began hugely protesting the comments.

Tori ignored him and stepped through the gates slowly, looking around. No walls… no electrocuting bracelet… she was free…

The ligress grew very excited, and began forcing itself into control, moving her feet towards the trees.

Thoughts and instincts began overcoming her long-docile spirit, and she was getting an uncontrollable urge to just take off.

Kakashi was distracted with Naruto and Tazuna… maybe she'd get far enough away…

Her leg muscles tensed, ready to spring.

Her first step brought near-whiplash as a hand grabbed the collar of her shirt, sending her flying backwards and smack into her captor.

"Just where d'you think YOU'RE going?" came Sasuke's voice.

Glaring, Tori smacked his hand away, "Nowhere."

"Didn't look like it to me."

"I don't think you need to be getting involved with what I do, and how I do it. Besides, aren't you supposed to be ANGRY with me?"

"You were trying to escape; as a member of Konoha, I have an obligation to stop any attempts to flee this village, lest our secrets should be discovered."

"Would you just leave me alone?"

"Silence, children." Kakashi came up behind them, "I believe it's time to go."

Huffing, Tori started walking. The ligress was bristling angrily; Sasuke had prevented their break for freedom. Thanks to him, Kakashi was back on guard to anything unusual; an escape attempt from her would definitely fall under that category.

Maybe if she fell behind him and slipped into the trees…

She plotted as Sakura and Kakashi delved into a conversation involving the five major ninja villages.

Suddenly, a rank smell caught her nostrils. It was pretty faint, but she noticed it came from a small puddle on the ground.

'_Eww, that water smells like sweat and some sorta pollutant…'_ she noted, covering her nose.

As they walked on, she suddenly heard whipping and clanking, and whirled around to see Kakashi suddenly wrapped up in a long, barbed chain held by two black-cloaked ninja with gas masks and metal-clawed gauntlets.

Horrified, Tori watched as they tugged, and Kakashi came apart in a mess of blood and body parts.

Sakura screamed, and Naruto cried out, "KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

Tori covered her mouth. Not Kakashi… no…

Suddenly, she noticed the two ninja vanish, reappearing behind Naruto. They tossed the long chain in the air, readying to wrap it around him.

Tori snarled, her adrenaline coming in a wave across her body. Naruto was in danger, and they'd killed Kakashi. They were gonna pay!

She charged for the duo as they moved towards him, but they were suddenly frozen in their tracks.

Looking up, she saw Sasuke land on their arms, and noticed that he'd fastened the chain to a tree with a kunai and shuriken. The assassins were stuck.

He planted his hands down, lifting his legs to drive them into the faces of the two ninja. Tori couldn't help thinking, _'…Whoa…'_

In doing so, the chain broke, and they recovered quickly, charging ahead. One of them went for Naruto, and the other headed for Tazuna.

Sakura grabbed a kunai and leapt in front of him, "Stay behind me, Mr. Tazuna!"

Tori went for the nearest one; Naruto's.

She leapt for the arm as it drove towards the boy, and sank her teeth into it, driving her heels into the ground to stop the guy in his tracks, but not before his other hand flew forward, scratching Naruto. As soon as she did, she felt a thud on his head, and the man slumped down, supported only by her teeth in his arm, and that appendage was quickly ripped from her mouth by something moving too fast for her to see.

Suddenly, the ninja heading towards Sakura, Tazuna, and, now, Sasuke, who'd appeared to defend them, was grabbed in a headlock by none other than…

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Sakura cried happily.

Tori looked up, her face brightening. He was alive!

Kakashi glanced over at Naruto and Tori, "Sorry I didn't come sooner, Naruto. I didn't know you'd freeze up. Nice job, you three," he nodded at Tori, Sasuke, and Sakura.

Tori looked apologetically at Naruto, who was currently focused on Sasuke.

The object of his attention suddenly spoke, "Hey… you ok…" he turned to look at the boy, "Scaredy Cat?"

Something in Naruto seemed to snap, and he lunged forward, stopped only by Kakashi's sharp retort,

"Naruto, don't move! Their claws are poisonous; you'll only spread it faster."

Naruto looked at his hand, which was bleeding.

Tori walked over and examined it. A very light smell of something pungent caught her attention.

"Oh, and Tori… wash your face, will you? You look like a cannibal."

Tori looked up, perplexed, "Say what?"

"You've got blood all over your mouth," commented Sakura, pointing.

Tori reached up and touched her lips, looking at her fingers. Sure enough, crimson liquid coated the tips.

"Must've happened when Kakashi pulled that guy's arm out of my mouth," she muttered.

Sakura looked at her quizzically, "Since when did you get such sharp teeth?"

Tori reached up and felt her teeth. They had grown longer, and become much sharper.

'_Fangs? Now? But my ligress didn't…_' Tori thought, _'Wait… was it because… nah, couldn't be…'_

She suddenly felt them changing. They shrunk down and dulled to become average canines again.

She looked up at the girl, hoping her secret was still safe, "I don't know what you're talking about; they feel normal."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, examining them again, "But… I could've sworn…"

Tori noticed, out of the corner of her eye, Sasuke staring at her intensely. Did he know?

Kakashi cut in after tying up the assailants, "Naruto, you should get that cleaned out. Opening the cut a bit more to increase the blood flow will wash the poison away… but first…"

He turned to look at Tazuna.

"Tell me, were those attackers after you?"

While Kakashi was detailing his accusation of Tazuna, Tori continued examining Naruto's hand. Sure enough, poison was starting to turn the color of his skin.

Naruto noticed it, too, and he wrenched his hand away from Tori, glaring at it.

Tori looked up as she heard Sakura speak, "This is too high rank of a mission for us; we're only junior ninja, genin. We really should just go back and get Naruto an antidote for his wound."

Kakashi put a finger to his chin in thought, "Well… this is a vexing problem… do we continue with the mission as planned… or go back to take care of Naruto's poisoning?"

Tori heard Naruto growling behind her, and turned to see his hand suddenly become a bloody mass as he drove a kunai knife straight into it.

"NARUTO! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" yelled Sakura.

"Yeah, cut it out, dude!" said Tori, taking a step forward, suddenly frozen by Naruto's fierce glare.

"I promise you… with this very kunai knife…" he snarled, "I will protect that old fart!"

Everyone grew quiet. Tori saw Naruto in a light she'd never noticed before. He was taking this seriously…

He straightened up, ripping the knife out, "Kakashi-sensei, let's go!"

Kakashi stood there, slowly sighing.

"Well, Naruto… you've managed to get the poison out, that's for sure… but now you've overdone it… just a bit."

Naruto paled, the cool aura gone.

Kakashi smiled, "Now, you'll probably die from loss of blood, I'm serious."

All sense of duty seemed to leave the boy, and he began panicking.

Tori put a hand on her head. Just when she thought it was safe to declare Naruto cool…

"I DON'T WANNA DIE! SAVE ME!" he yelped.

She sighed.

Sakura glared at him, "What're you, a MASOCHIST? Stop getting high on pain, it's not good for you!"

Sasuke even seemed to have had a small recognition moment, but even that was gone.

Tori blinked. Kakashi had paused and was staring intently at Naruto's hand.

Then, she smelled something she hadn't in about four long years… fox.

She looked around anxiously. Was Kurama nearby? Or was it just a normal animal? No… this energy mixed with the scent… it was much more powerful… even terrifying… and too evil to be Kurama.

But where was it coming from? Was that what Kakashi noticed?

Suddenly, as soon as it had come, the smell was gone.

Kakashi finished with Naruto's bandage, his normal demeanor returning, as though nothing had happened.

Tori frowned; she'd have to question him about it later.

Kakashi stood up. "Let's head out, shall we?"

Tori nodded, but Tazuna's voice behind her caused her to turn around.

"Uhm… excuse me? I've… erm… got something to say…"

**_A while later…_**

Tori let her fingers trail in the cool water as the small boat sped along the river. Tazuna had given them a pretty complicated story explaining the attack of the two ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist.

"So… lemme get this straight… one of the biggest black marketers in the world is after your hide… probably got millions of thugs and sacrificial pawns at his disposal… and you wanted to hire ninja on a _C-rank_ level?" she asked incredulously.

Tazuna looked at her sharply, "I've already told you, my village is very poor. We couldn't afford anything higher. It's all his fault, too… that Gato…"

"And he wants you dead because you're trying to break this vice he's got on your country by building a bridge that'll increase the commercial income…" muttered Sakura.

"Exactly."

"WHOOOOAAAA!" cried Naruto, as something massive came at them from the fog, "IT'S GINORMOUS!"

"Keep it down!" snapped the boatman, "If Gato's men catch us, we're doomed! I've got to turn the engine off and row from here so we don't attract attention!"

Naruto clamped his mouth shut.

"Wish you'd just do that all the time, loser…" said Sasuke, who sat near the stern with Sakura, Kakashi, Tazuna, and the boatman. Tori and Naruto were up in the bow.

Growling, Tori turned around and sent a handful of water into Sasuke's face, "Quit calling him names, you jerk."

Kakashi glared at them, "Stop it, both of you. We're almost there."

Fuming, Tori snapped her head around and stared glumly at the water. She thought she saw, for one split second, a small smile appear on the corner of Naruto's mouth, but she dismissed it.

Focusing on the water, Tori dearly wished she could send a nice big wad of it straight into that pompous ass she used to like, but now hated so much.

Almost the second she thought of it, Tori's eyes widened as a basketball-sized ball of water flew out of the river and zoomed behind her, smacking into Sasuke and drenching him.

She whirled around, shocked beyond belief.

Kakashi closed his eyes in an attempt to lower his stress level.

"Tori… I thought I told you…"

"But… Kakashi-sensei… I didn't do it!" said Tori, her heart pounding. That couldn't have been her… she barely knew ANY ninjutsu, much less how to conjure the few that she DID know. The only one she'd gotten the hang of was the Shadow Clone jutsu, and she could only make those three solid clones… but of course, she always felt drained afterwards.

Kakashi gave her a stern look.

Naruto looked at him, "She's right, sensei! I didn't see her move or anything!"

Tori glanced up at the boy. He was standing up for her…

Kakashi shook his head, "Whatever…"

Sakura, on the other hand, had pulled a towel out of her backpack and was feverishly dabbing the squirming Sasuke with it.

"Oh, Sasuke, you're soaking wet! Just hold still and I'll…"

"Just cut it out, will you?" he snapped at her, "I don't care!"

Tori caught a glimpse of the look on Tazuna's face, and the expression was pretty easy to read, 'Some team…'

She couldn't agree more.

She turned back to look at the water. Had she really done that?

She focused again, trying to see if she could make a small whirlpool, but nothing happened. Confused, she closed her eyes for the rest of the boat ride.

Upon reaching the island, they began walking down the path. Tori's thoughts still remained on her unintentional dousing of Sasuke.

'_I still don't see how I could've done it. I've never done any sort of water ninjutsu before, and I hear it's not the easiest to control… Maybe someone else did it… maybe Kakashi did it because he was trying to tell me he's on my side!' _

She brightened up slightly at this thought, but quickly slumped, _'Yeah, as if… he doesn't really care at all. Naruto might've done it, but I have yet to see him do any techniques at all… I don't think Sakura knows water style, but even if she HAD done it, she'd never have thrown it at Sasuke. And Sasuke wouldn't have done it to himself… besides, I hear he only uses fire ninjutsu… at least, that's what I heard Kakashi say…'_

She sighed, brooding. Then who did it?

Suddenly, she heard Naruto shout behind her, startling her immensely.

"A HA!"

She whirled around to see a bush get nailed with a kunai.

Naruto had a glare on his face.

'_Did he see something?' _

"Oh… guess it was nothing…" he said, brushing his hair with one hand in a smooth gesture.

Tori put a hand on her forehead.

"YOU IDIOT!" Sakura yelled, "STOP TRYING TO BE COOL!"

Kakashi groaned, "Naruto, your tools are very dangerous, don't mess around with them, please…"

Naruto didn't seem to hear them. He'd grabbed another shuriken and flung it at the bushes, "This time! Over there!"

Kakashi didn't reprimand him, as Tori had expected. Instead, he headed toward the spot.

Tori followed curiously, hearing a loud thud behind her and Sakura's angry rant of, "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO CUT IT OUT!"

As Kakashi pulled the bushes apart, a little, white snow hare lay against the tree.

Tori gasped, thinking it was dead at first. Even she whirled around to yell at the boy, "You _killed_ it, you asshole!"

Kakashi turned away, looking around as Naruto picked up the rabbit and cuddled it, on the verge of tears. Mutters could be heard, "I'm sorry, bunny! PLEASE wake up!"

Tori shook her head as Sakura continued to furiously berate the boy. The rabbit wasn't dead, just shocked.

Her ears twitched suddenly, and automatically tuned over to where Kakashi was looking. A great, whooshing sound had emerged, and she vaguely heard Kakashi's yell of "GET DOWN!" before a great weight had thrown itself on top of her, flattening her to the ground as the sonic boom of a giant, whirling object hit them all hard, just barely missing Naruto as Sakura tackled him to the ground.

Tori looked up to see Sasuke getting off of her, and she glared slightly at him.

"I can take care of myself, jerk…" she mumbled, before he put a hand in front of her, silencing her.

She followed his gaze to see a massive, titanic sword buried into a tree trunk, with a man standing on the hilt, sneering at them. Half of his face was covered with bandages, and his headband bore the same symbol as the two ninja from the Hidden Mist Village.

Kakashi made a scoffing noise that caused Tori to frown. This guy didn't look at all like someone who could be easily taken down. Was Kakashi really that strong?

Suddenly, Naruto charged, but Kakashi quickly grabbed him by the jacket and tossed him backwards.

"Leave this one to me, Naruto…" he said, a hand suddenly going to his headband, the part concealing his left eye.

He glared at the man on the sword, lifting a hand to his headband.

"This could get ugly…"


	14. The Hidden Mist Assassin, Zabuza!

**(A/N): I went back and edited Chapters 6-12. In Chapters 6-8 there's really not a lot of change, just really minor things, but you will definitely notice large chunks of storyline change in 9-12. I just didn't think the story flowed well in some parts, and the wrinkles have been ironed out. Personally, I like the new storyline better, so I'm sorry to those of you who liked it better before. What might cheer you up is I added some detail into the chain-up week. I was pretty pissed off at myself for not getting all mushy about those parts; I'm usually avid about writing romance scenes. Anywho, it's all changed, and I recommend you going back and rereading some of the material there. And now, here's an action-packed Chapter 14, hot off the press! Enjoy!**

**SUMMARY: **A deadly and famous assassin from the Village Hidden in the Mist was sent after Tazuna to annihilate him. It's Team 7's job to protect the bridge builder… but can they do that… while barely managing to keep themselves alive, too?

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 14: The Hidden Mist Assassin, Zabuza!**

"Well, well… Kakashi of the Sharingan… I wondered when I'd be facing you…" said the man. Tori noticed Sasuke's shock, even from behind him. She gained a thoughtful expression. Did he know what a Sharingan was?

"I hope it's not too much trouble to ask you to hand the old-timer over…" the man continued, his tone icy cool, with a very evil touch to it. It made Tori shiver slightly, which caused Sasuke to step back towards her. She forgot the feeling only long enough to give him a look.

Kakashi began giving orders.

"Assume battle formation Manji, the four of you! This kind of battle requires your teamwork. You MUST protect Tazuna at all costs, understood?"

They immediately jumped into the familiar positions, one ninja on every side of Tazuna, kunai out and ready.

"As for you, Zabuza…" Kakashi said, tugging at his headband, "I don't think you'll mind me bringing this little number out…"

Tori's own eyes widened as she saw a very peculiar sight appear from under the scarred eyelid that belonged to Kakashi.

The eye itself consisted of four pupils, one normal one in the middle, and three comma-shaped ones surrounding it in a wheel-like formation. The iris was blood-red.

Tori frowned. She felt as though it was familiar… somehow… but she couldn't ever recall seeing someone with such an eye before.

"Ah, to be presented with the famous Sharingan so early in battle… quite flattering," said Zabuza.

"Ok, now you've got me. WHAT THE HELL IS A SHARINGAN?" yelled Naruto.

"The Mirror-Wheel Eye…" came Sasuke's response, almost immediately. Tori looked at him. She'd figured he knew what it was.

Sasuke continued, "It gives the bearer a special ocular ninjutsu, or doujutsu; they gain the ability to copy any technique, be it ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu, instantly. Also, the user can see through any illusion."

Zabuza snickered, an evil sort of laugh, "The ability to duplicate your opponent's greatest skill… of course, my bingo book has quite a lot on you…" He looked down at Kakashi.

"The man who has copied over a thousand ninja techniques… Kakashi, the Mirror Ninja!"

Tori's mouth dropped. Kakashi knew over a _thousand_ techniques? _'So… we're being trained by some sorta ninja celebrity here? …AWESOME!'_

Her respect for Kakashi skyrocketed.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was giving Kakashi suspicious looks. He appeared to be in deep thought.

Zabuza leered at them all, "Alright, now that we're done with our little small talk, I want to get started. I've got a tight schedule, so I'd like to have just polished off the old man and been on my way…"

His hard gaze fixed on Kakashi, "But it looks like I'll have to slaughter you first."

Kakashi didn't move.

Tori looked back up at Zabuza, but he'd vanished.

A splash on the large lake nearby turned everyone's attention to the figure suddenly standing on the surface, his hands poised in a ninjutsu formation.

'_Walking on water?'_ gaped Tori.

The water began to curl around him, and he sneered as a fog began to form.

"The greatest of the ninja arts… the Hidden Mist jutsu!"

Tori realized the visibility was greatly reducing with each passing second.

"Stay on your guard," Kakashi warned, "Zabuza was the leader of the assassin corps in the Village Hidden in the Mist. Their specialty was silent killing. My Sharingan can't fully penetrate this fog, so be careful!"

Kakashi began to disappear from view, and even Tori's own comrades were vanishing among the pea-soup-like mist.

Her heart rate increased dramatically. The ligress began to emerge, realizing this as a life-threatening situation. Tori's senses went up in acuteness. She smirked inwardly, despite her anxiety; even if she couldn't hear Zabuza coming, she could probably smell him.

With the ligress at her back, Tori thought, she could do anything.

Her breath caught in her throat suddenly, as her enhanced senses suddenly picked up a huge panic reading to her right. At first, she figured it was Naruto or Sakura, but as she went over who was where in the formation, she realized, with shock, that it was Sasuke.

She turned her head to look. He was frozen, trembling. His eyes had a wild, fearful look to them, and it scared Tori just seeing it. If Sasuke was losing his cool in these conditions…

She reached back with her free hand and gently touched his. He jumped slightly, but she slid her fingers onto his palm and gripped tightly. If Sasuke felt better, she would, too. She felt the grip returned, but he was still badly shaken.

"Sasuke, calm down," came Kakashi's voice. The fog around them slowly began to thin, and their sensei came into view, "I won't let my comrades die. I'll protect you all with my life…" He smiled warmly at them, "I promise!"

Tori sighed in relief. This was the Kakashi she'd first met four years ago.

Sasuke nodded, and he relaxed. Tori let go of his hand when she realized Sakura could see them now.

She shifted her position, ready to attack.

"Such a touching speech…" Zabuza's voice hissed from nowhere, "too bad you can't really bet on that…"

Tori didn't notice he was right behind her until it was too late.

She could sense the sword coming at her, that huge neck-cleaving blade ready to slice her in two…

She was shoved roughly to the ground, and the sword stopped in its tracks. Kakashi had stabbed Zabuza with a kunai, but instead of blood dripping out… it was water.

The body disappeared, and the sword came again from a different location. It hit its mark. Tori nearly screamed as Kakashi was cut in two.

But suddenly, what should've been blood once again was nothing but… water.

Kakashi appeared behind Zabuza, a kunai held to the Mist assassin's neck.

"It's over…" Kakashi growled.

Zabuza snickered, "Clever, Kakashi… copying my Water Doppelganger jutsu and executing it perfectly… Unfortunately for you… it'll take more than an imitating monkey to defeat me…"

Zabuza dissolved into a blob of water, and he was once again behind Kakashi, sword swinging.

'_Another clone? Kakashi-sensei got duped!'_ Tori thought, horrorstruck.

Kakashi dropped to the ground just in time to avoid the blow, but Zabuza planted the sword into the ground, levying his foot into Kakashi, sending him flying with a powerful kick.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Tori cried, watching him plummet into the water.

Zabuza charged, stopped for some reason, and reappeared out on the water behind Kakashi as he came up for air, struggling against something.

"Art of the Water Prison!" Zabuza cried, and suddenly, a sphere of water formed around Kakashi, Zabuza's hand wedged into it.

"And now that you're out of the way," Zabuza continued, "I get to destroy those little brats, finish off my target, and then demolish you." He made a hand sign, "Water Clone Jutsu!"

A clone of him formed at the water's edge. Tori looked around at the others. Without Kakashi… they really didn't stand a chance. Even Zabuza's doppelganger felt too strong for them to take on!

Naruto was shaking badly, and Sasuke and Sakura were looking on, dumbstruck.

Zabuza sniggered, "You little brats… running around wearing your hitai-ate headbands and calling yourselves ninja…" He spat, "You're an insult to our kind!"

He ran forward, knocking Naruto off his feet with a powerful kick. Naruto went skidding backwards, his headband clattering to the ground. Zabuza's foot stomped on it.

"Naruto!" Tori ran over and kneeled down to help him, looking up at the deadly jounin.

This was awful… they didn't stand a chance… not with Kakashi the way he was.

She glanced around, feeling panic begin to rise in her chest… they were all gonna die…

'_Hey, what the hell happened to being able to do anything?'_ a voice snapped inside her.

Tori stopped. Was it…?

"Just take Tazuna and go!" Kakashi's voice invaded her thoughts. Tori looked up. "If Zabuza's clone gets too far away from his body, it'll dissolve! Don't worry about me, just focus on the mission! Get Tazuna to safety!"

Tori's heartbeat increased. She could just run away…?

A different voice, a memory, played in her head: _"Those in the ninja world who break the rules are trash… but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash…"_

She set her eyes on Zabuza, her teeth gritting. Kakashi had given them that very lecture… and she wanted to uphold it. Running wasn't an option; not until Kakashi was free to run with them.

'_I… I don't care if I die… if I don't do something to help Kakashi-sensei, we're all going to die, anyway, so…'_

The adrenaline poured through her veins, and Tori stood up, stepping in front of Naruto to block him from the assassin.

"W-we may be kids…" she said shakily, her eyes turning gold, "but we're kids w-with an assload of attitude and guts!" She smiled inwardly as her confidence grew, "You just so happened to piss off the biggest temper tantrum in Konoha village: ME!"

She charged, eyeing the sword carefully on the doppelganger. Her fangs emerged, and she readied her claws. She wasn't sure if her tail had appeared yet, but it didn't matter at this point. She dropped to avoid the swing from the clone, which didn't have nearly the speed of the original, and went for its other hand, sinking her teeth into it.

The clone swung its arm, throwing her backwards towards the water. She could hear Kakashi's furious yells as she skidded into the ground, but she was too caught up in the moment to make out what he was saying.

The clone was coming at her, sword ready to swing again as she stood up. Instead of dropping down, Tori jumped as it came at her, pressing her stomach onto the flat of the blade and grabbing the dull edge to hold on as it swung through the air. She could hear Sakura scream; obviously, they thought the sword had gotten her.

She shifted her feet up onto the blade, and launched herself off as it swung near the water again. It would appear to Zabuza as though he'd cut her and hefted her body into the lake, but as soon as she hit the water, she sank down as far as she could, and felt the mermaid transformation arise.

She swam up behind the real Zabuza and Kakashi, her tail dragging softly on the bottom.

She remembered the water ball that had launched itself at Sasuke, and wondered if it would work this time.

She struggled to focus on the water holding Kakashi, telling it to disperse itself, but nothing happened. _'His chakra's too strong for the water to overcome…' _she thought.

Great; there went that plan out the window.

She sat on the bottom and pondered her options. She could go back to shore and try to duke it out with the clone, or she could hide down here like a coward. Also, she could attempt to use the fact that everyone thought she was dead/injured to her advantage. She liked option number three the best.

There was a problem there… how to execute that.

Suddenly, she heard a loud splash, and she looked up to see Naruto treading water, talking. What happened?

She wanted to swim up and talk to him, but she remembered her plan. Since Naruto was now in the water, it meant Zabuza was still in business. She instead found a floating pile of branches and reeds and ducked behind it as she came up to the surface.

She couldn't believe her eyes. Kakashi was free! And better yet… the clone was gone! Naruto looked quite pleased with himself, meaning he'd had something to do with both achievements.

Kakashi and the real Zabuza now stood near the middle of the lake, and their hands were moving to make signs pretty quickly. Tori noticed that Kakashi's hands moved at the same time and in the same way as Zabuza's.

'_Is that his Sharingan copying Zabuza?'_ she wondered.

Suddenly, she felt vibrations around her, and two enormous dragons emerged from the lake surface, attacking each other. The water swelled and crashed with their movements, and Tori realized that Naruto was far too close for comfort. It wouldn't be long before he was suctioned in and drowned.

She dove under, reaching up and snagging the boy by his ankle as a massive swell came his way. The dragons had collided with a titanic water explosion, sending tidal waves all across the lake.

Tori held Naruto under the arms and dove down, away from the currents and undertows the battle was generating.

She felt him struggling, and made sure to keep her face out of his visual range; if he saw her, she was done for.

She swam near the shore and released him, shoving him up towards the surface, where he gladly raced for air.

She turned and swam back towards Kakashi. She could see he was mimicking every move Zabuza made, and could hear two voices speaking as one; he was copying Zabuza's words, too.

'_Whoa…' _

Tori wondered if there was anything she could do to help. Suddenly, as she neared the surface, she heard Kakashi call out,

"Water Style! Giant Water Vortex Jutsu!"

Hey… maybe she _could_ help…

She didn't know how it happened, but she concentrated with all her might on packing as much water into Kakashi's attack as possible; if they were lucky, they could probably drown Zabuza.

Suddenly, something took over her body; a hidden force of sorts.

Her arms spread out, and her eyes closed. She felt herself rise above the surface, but she didn't transform back.

When her eyes snapped open, Kakashi was staring at her. A blue haze covered her sight, but Tori's arms came together, and a wave rushed past and around her, pouring itself into the swell that was Kakashi's attack, tripling its size.

Even when it launched, Tori's tail flipped forward, sending more water into it than before.

Kakashi's attack became nothing short of a gigantic tsunami, catching Zabuza up in its waves and crashing along the shore through the forest. Kakashi disappeared, and Tori regained her senses. The blue haze disappeared, and she could move on her own again.

She felt exhausted, and before the last of the water left to sweep Zabuza away, she plopped back into the lake, floating near the surface.

This caused her to transform back, and she drifted for a bit before feeling a pull on her shirt sleeve.

She opened her eyes to see Sasuke dragging her through the water towards the shore. She didn't have the strength to reprimand him for helping her.

She closed her eyes as he pulled her onto the shore.

"Tori?" came Sakura's voice. Tori didn't answer; she waited to see what they'd do.

"Oh, man… is she…?" Naruto's voice sounded really concerned.

"She doesn't look dead," said Tazuna.

"Well… just to make sure, guess I'd better give her CPR…" said Sasuke, putting emphasis on the last part of the statement.

Tori's eyes snapped open, "I'M ALIVE! I'M ALIVE!"

She regretted it; Sakura nearly killed her with squeezing her so tightly.

They headed over to where Kakashi had pin-cushioned Zabuza with kunai. Tori had to ride on Sasuke's back, much to her annoyance.

"I foresee… your death," Kakashi's voice sounded creepy as they walked up.

Suddenly, Zabuza keeled over, two acupuncture needles stuck in his neck.

Tori's eyes went wide with shock, and everyone turned to look at the one responsible: a boy standing in a tree.

"It seems your prediction was correct…" His voice was soft.

Kakashi jumped down, feeling for Zabuza's pulse on his neck. "…Dead…"

"I'm sorry for the intrusion, but I felt it'd be better if I were to kill Zabuza myself," said the boy.

"Hmm…" Kakashi looked up at the boy, "A shinobi hunter from the Hidden Mist Village, correct?"

"Shinobi hunter?" Tori questioned.

"Ah… you're well informed," the boy responded, "Yes, I am on the elite tracking squad for my village. It is our duty to hunt down and dispose of traitors, rogues, and outlaws to our village."

Naruto ran up to him, apparently flabbergasted. He glanced back and forth between the boy and Zabuza several times.

"What the… WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" he yelled.

"Calm down, Naruto. He's not a threat," said Kakashi.

"No! How the hell did he, someone who's probably about my age, take a mountain like Zabuza out in two seconds, when it's taken the five of us all this time just to beat him up? Do we stink? Are we just pathetic?"

Tori realized what he was saying, and agreed.

"Well, Naruto… you can or cannot come to terms with this situation, but I will forewarn you… in this world, there are bound to be others like him… mere kids who are both younger than you…"

Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's head, "…and stronger than me."

Tori sighed and put her head on the back of Sasuke's shoulder. This was too much for one day. She was ready for bed…

The boy jumped down and hefted Zabuza onto one shoulder, "Forgive me, but I must dispose of the remains as quickly as possible. Farewell…"

In a small whirlwind of energy, both the boy and Zabuza's corpse disappeared.

Kakashi sighed, and slid his headband back over his left eye, "Ok, let's get going! This mission isn't over yet! We must get Tazuna to his house!"

Tazuna sighed, "Wow… you poor kids. You can all rest at my house when we get there, how's that sound?"

"Dude, you have no idea how wonderful that sounds to me…" Tori started, but something caught her eye.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" she yelped, completely forgetting her fatigue as she launched herself off Sasuke's back and ran over to the now-collapsed jounin.

"Is he… dead?" Sakura asked worriedly.

Tori knelt down and felt for his pulse, "No… he's fine. I guess the Sharingan takes a lot out of you. Not surprising, seeing how much it does…"

"How do YOU know how much it does? You didn't see Kakashi in action," Sasuke said, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Tori whirled around, giving him a look, "I was there when you guys were explaining the whole thing, doofus. I'm not THAT dense!"

"Could've fooled me…"

"Great comeback… must've yanked that one off a cereal box…"

"Cut it out, Tori. Let's just get Kakashi-sensei to Mr. Tazuna's house, and then you two can duke it out there!" Sakura scolded. Tori gaped at her. Sasuke had started it!

She shrugged it off and slid one of Kakashi's arms over her shoulder, struggling to lift the heavy man. Suddenly, the weight reduced. She looked to see Naruto holding up the other part.

"Yeah, let's go," he said quietly.


	15. The Lowdown

**(A/N): Hi guys, been gone a long while. Started reading this fic and what I've written and I decided to go after it again. Updates will not be frequent; I'm in college now and that takes a lotta time. But for the sake of those who enjoyed the story, here's Chapter 15. 16 is already finished, but I'm gonna put it up tomorrow night. For those of you who missed me, I missed you too. You're gonna be seeing some revamped writing skills, courtesy of about... what... 3 to 4 years of maturation? Wow... this website and all my stories are like my own little timeline... -gets choked up- Ok, ok, you guys don't need that. Enjoy these new chapters of Konoha Kitty, and remember to review!**

**SUMMARY: **Kakashi divulges his theory that Zabuza might still be alive, sending a shockwave throughout the members of Team 7. Sasuke attempts to patch things up with Tori in her weakened state, but will Sakura take notice?

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 15: The Lowdown**

_**A few hours later…**_

Tori awoke to Sakura slapping her with a pillow. Not the best wake-up call… when your whole body was sore as all get-out.

She remembered… some spirit had taken her over. She'd created chunks of water that moved themselves in to mix with Kakashi's attack.

And she'd felt her chakra being tapped into… a large amount of it was gone, if she wasn't mistaken. So… she'd performed a water jutsu… without actually doing it.

"TORI! GET UP!" Sakura snapped, "Kakashi-sensei's awake, and I'm sure he's got something important to tell us! Come on!"

Tori slid out of bed, rising shakily to her feet. Sakura sighed, "How the hell can you be so tired? All you did was get thrown into the water and washed back up!"

That was right… when Tori had been carrying Kakashi, she'd fainted from exhaustion… and Sakura didn't know about her newly acquired ability.

"Naruto was saying all this crap about how a mermaid saved him… jeez, that kid gets worse every day!"

So, Naruto had seen the tail, but not her face, thankfully.

"A mermaid, eh? Wonder if he knows mermaids only live in saltwater…"

Sakura gave her a weird look, "And I wonder if BOTH of you know that MERMAIDS DON'T EXIST!"

Tori sighed, "You're right… as usual…"

Oh, if only she knew…

They arrived downstairs to see Kakashi still lying down, but speaking with Tsunami, Tazuna's 28-year-old daughter.

"… It's all right. I'll be fine in a week," Kakashi assured the woman. Tsunami sighed and went into the kitchen.

"That Sharingan's incredible, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura noted as the four genin gathered around their sensei's futon, "But it puts so much strain on you… is it worth it?"

"I guess we can relax…" said Tazuna, "That guy was pretty tough. It'll take those people a while to regroup, I'm sure."

"Still… that masked kid… I just can't shake this feeling about him…" Sakura thought aloud.

The rest became a blur to Tori. The fatigue from the fight… she wasn't accustomed to using so much chakra at once. She preferred to rely on taijutsu as opposed to ninjutsu, so she rarely used it at all.

The words were slurred around in her ears and brain. _'I gotta lie down…' _she groaned inwardly, _'if I don't… I think I'm gonna hurl…'_

She crawled over to the wall and propped herself against it, slumping down. Her arms and legs were aching all over. It didn't help that her stomach felt smashed by the force of Zabuza's sword. It didn't cut her, but she was sure her stomach was nothing but one giant bruise by now…

One phrase caught in her filter: "…that Zabuza is still alive."

"WHAAAAT?"

She leaped up at the simultaneous yell and tried to appear as though she'd been awake the whole time.

"Didn't you check his vitals?" Sakura cried.

"Yes, and he WAS dead… but it could've only been a temporary death," said Kakashi, "Think about it; shinobi hunters are to dispose of corpses where they lay. Why would the boy take all the trouble of carrying it off to destroy it? And also, did you see the weapons he used to 'kill' Zabuza?"

"…Senbon…" muttered Sasuke. Tori sat up again and glanced over. Sasuke had been slowly making his way over to where she was. She glared, but something seemed to hit him. "No way…"

"Those needles could have very well made a perfect kill… or a perfect simulation of a kill, if they hit the right tendons," said Kakashi, "Shinobi hunters are trained with a mass knowledge of human anatomy."

"What're you suggesting, then?" asked Sakura.

"That boy didn't come to dispose of Zabuza… he came to save him," said Kakashi.

"And they'll probably send someone else after us… not just him," said Sasuke.

"Hold it, how do we know you're not just over thinking things?" asked Tazuna.

"I may be… but we can't rule out that possibility, either. Preparation is a ninja's most important skill."

"That's true, Kakashi-sensei, but how can you prepare while you're bedridden?"

Kakashi gave them all an oddly unsettling smile that made even Tori snap out of her stupor to pay attention to.

"More training."

"WHAAT? How's THAT gonna help?" Tori snapped, fully awake now, "Zabuza nearly destroyed YOU, and we don't stand a chance! We won't be strong enough to face him with a small amount of training!"

"I know you weren't there when it happened, Tori… but it was because of your actions and the four of you working together that you were able to rescue me."

"Wait… how did I help? I got chucked in the water!"

"As unintentional as it might've been, Tori, you distracted Zabuza while Naruto summoned his Shadow clones and set them on him. Not to mention… I think you boosted the morale a bit with your little speech…"

Tori sat there, stunned.

Kakashi continued, "You've all grown so much since your training began… especially you, Naruto." He beamed at the boy, "By far, you've advanced the most."

Naruto's expression brightened. He was so happy…

"Now remember… what I teach you is only to hold us up until I can take over…"

"Wait a minute, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura exclaimed, "How do we know Zabuza isn't coming tomorrow, or even right now, to bang the door down and finish us off?"

"Relax, Sakura… when a body lapses into a simulated death, the muscles become extremely exhausted, and the organs, as well. It will be a while before Zabuza's in any shape to come after us."

"All right, training while we wait!" Naruto cheered, "This oughta be fun!"

"Yeah, right… if you're an idiot…" snapped a voice.

Everyone turned to see a young boy standing at the door. His eyes glared around at Team 7.

"And just what the hell d'you mean by that?" yelled Naruto.

"Inari! There you are!" Tazuna cried, opening his arms.

The boy ran over and hugged him, "Welcome home, Grandpa."

"Inari, don't be so rude!" Tsunami scolded, "These ninja risked their lives to bring your grandpa safely home! You should be thanking them!"

Inari looked up at her, and bluntly pointed to the group, "But they're all gonna die anyway, Mama."

"WHAAAAT? LISTEN, YOU LITTLE-" Naruto struggled to attack him. Sakura restrained him, clearly getting pissed off.

"CUT IT OUT, NARUTO! HE'S JUST A KID!"

"Nobody can beat Gato…" Inari muttered.

"WHY, YOU…"

Naruto broke free of Sakura's hold and charged to give Inari what-for, but Tori had him flat on his back, her foot planted on his chest, all of her previous fatigue forgotten.

"Touch that little boy… and see what happens…" she snarled. Her glare was so intense, she felt the ligress trying to break through. She fought it back down, realizing her eyes were changing color again.

Naruto looked confused for a second, but threw her foot off and sat up, pointing at Inari,

"All right, you, someday, I'm the hero who's gonna take over as Hokage! I'm not gonna let this stuck-up suit intimidate me, you hear?"

Inari snorted, "Heroes… there's no such thing, dummy!"

"HEY!" Naruto tried to get up, but Tori kicked him back down. She couldn't explain it… but she felt the need to protect the kid from any physical harm whatsoever… not just him, but children in general…

'_Whoa… motherly instinct much?'_ she wondered.

In her surprise at her own actions, she released Naruto.

Inari walked to the door, "Get lost if you value your lives…"

"Where are you going?" asked Tazuna.

"My room…" The door slammed shut behind the boy.

"Inari!" Tsunami yelled after him, "Ohh… that kid…"

"Sorry about his manners…" Tazuna said apologetically.

Tori didn't say anything. Sasuke's eyes were fixed on her.

'_Nothing abnormal there…'_ she grumbled mentally. He was usually giving her that look of suspicion. He'd been doing it a lot more, recently, and it was really starting to piss her off.

Naruto, now released, stormed after him.

Kakashi looked at the other three. "All right, tomorrow, we start your new training session!"

"Why not today?" asked Sasuke.

"Ah, want the jump on it as always, Sasuke… unfortunately, with my… erm… condition… I can't supervise you to make sure you're doing it right… or to make sure no one gets hurt." His voice gained a mysterious tone. Tori figured he was trying to drag out the suspense.

She sighed, and wanted to go stop Naruto from beating Inari to a bloody pulp, but her legs seemed to have stopped responding… completely.

Her knees buckled out from underneath her, and she collapsed in a heap on the floor, her brain amassing itself with pressure and pain. All of that action when she was supposed to be resting had caught up with her… all at once.

"Tori!" Sakura's voice cried out. The floor vibrated as she dropped down beside her, "Kakashi-sensei, what's wrong with her?"

"Relax, Sakura. I'm not the only one who got a taste of Zabuza's power."

"But… all she did was get smacked with his sword! Sasuke got stomped on and he's still walking just fine! Heck, he carried HER here when she collapsed out on the trail, too! Even Naruto's ok, and he got kicked around pretty badly!"

"Sakura, you need to relax and stop complaining. Did you forget that Zabuza's sword has a lot more force than his limbs when it's wielded? She also spent a lot more time underwater than is average for the human lungs to handle. We've all had a rough time, Tori just happened to be affected the most; it doesn't mean she was hurt the most, but she may not be as resistant to physical attacks as Naruto or Sasuke."

"But… well… maybe…"

"Sasuke, take Tori to her bed. Sakura, get up and help our hosts with dinner, will you? I don't want to hear any more on this matter, understand?"

"Yes, sensei…"

'_Not Sasuke…'_ Tori groaned mentally.

Too late to complain; she was up and in his arms before she could open her mouth to attempt to say anything against it.

As they walked upstairs, Tori heard another set of footsteps, and Naruto's voice reached her ears.

"What happened to her?"

"None of your business, loser. Go make yourself useful; Kakashi's a bit peeved right now, so don't piss him off anymore."

"Don't tell ME what to do!"

"Somebody's gotta, or you just wander around all day like the brainless idiot you are!"

Tori gritted her teeth. She didn't care if she fell unconscious from this, she had to butt in.

"Sasuke… shove… it…" she grunted out. Both boys fell silent. Tori's brain gave off another wave of nausea from the tension in the room. She needed alone time… now.

The thumping resumed as Naruto's footsteps faded away, and Sasuke reached the landing. They walked past a room where sobbing was heard within.

Tori's heart ached just hearing it. _'Inari… why are you crying?'_

Why was this? Why did she feel so protective of a kid she didn't even know?

She felt the soft sheets on her skin, and the questions were all but wiped from her mind as blankets were pulled up around her.

Sasuke's voice cut through the silence, "I know you're not really out."

Tori didn't respond. True, she wasn't unconscious yet, but she felt it coming on.

"So… now's a better time than when you're able to move. I wanna know why it is that you're so exhausted. I can feel it; your chakra level is way lower than it was before we fought Zabuza."

Tori opened one eye, and immediately regretted doing so. Sasuke had stood up from the chair at her bedside and was leaning over her, his arms resting gently on either side of her head.

"Get… away… from me…" she forced out.

Sasuke's lips pressed tenderly against her temple, and he rested his forehead on hers.

"Sorry, no can do. You don't honestly expect me to just abandon you when you're so… _weak_…" he whispered the words near her ear, "… and _defenseless_?"

Tori's eyes glared up into his, "You… wish!" At least she'd gotten him off the subject of her exhaustion. What a perv…

"Hmm… sounds like someone needs a little sleepy time…" he said, his voice growing softer.

His arm moved up around her head, and his lips slid across her brow, down her nose…

And straight on top of her mouth.

Tori squirmed the best she was able to at the moment, which was pretty feeble if you can remember her condition.

She tried to move her face away, but Sasuke held her there, and she couldn't resist his kiss… her whole being cried out for him, though she stubbornly refused to requite his love. His tenderness… his care… it all flowed out of him and into her through that small contact, melting her from the inside out.

He pulled away finally, and Tori snarled out of habit, "Couldn't… resist taking… advantage… of the _weak…_ and _defenseless_… could you?"

As always, Sasuke saw straight through the bitterness, "Oh… you liked that, did you?" He asked, his gentle tone gaining an air of amusement.

"Screw… you… I hate you… so much… right now…"

Sasuke still wouldn't be shaken, "They say that if you hate someone enough, it turns into love… an obsessive love… but love, nonetheless."

Tori flopped back. She couldn't believe this guy! He had counters to every one of her snappy remarks!

'_I give up…'_ she grumbled mentally, _'He's impossible…'_

"Now… I'd say you need to shed some of that crankiness…" Sasuke cooed, running his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp on the way down.

Tori couldn't deny it; that was fantastic. Her eyelids drooped shut, and her muscles relaxed. This wasn't even Sasuke's hypnotism…

She felt skin brush against her cheek, and something wrapping around her. She realized Sasuke had crawled in next to her and was cuddling her, his cheek on hers.

When she felt better, Sasuke was getting a wailing for this… but for now, she decided to enjoy it. She actually found it… unbelievably… better than being alone.

'_You're not alone, Tori… not now… not ever again._'

The whole situation would've set her face on fire, if the wonderfully warm sensation it triggered in her heart and stomach hadn't just condemned her to the darkness of sleep for the next few hours.

'_Just for a while longer…'_ she thought.

_**The next day…**_

"UP AND AT 'EM!!!" Sakura's voice shattered the peace and quiet of the room.

Tori flew up in her bed, immediately regretting it, as pain shot through her back and stomach muscles.

"Sakura… what the hell…"

"Come on! Kakashi-sensei says we're starting our new training today!"

Tori rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, trying to remember. Sasuke had been there, and…

She paled, darting her head from side to side. If Sakura saw them like this…

Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Tori sighed in relief, but at the same time she was a bit confused. Usually, Sasuke stayed the entire night. What made him leave?

She shrugged. As long as her secret was still safe…

"What is that next to you?" Sakura demanded, making Tori's heart skyrocket into her throat.

"Wh-what?"

"That lump! Is there someone _there_?"

Tori looked next to her in the bed, and a mound was in the covers that she hadn't noticed before. _'Oh… crap…'_

If it _was_ Sasuke, all she'd do was give him a helluva wailing and demand to know why he was in her bed…

Tori took a deep breath, and yanked the covers away.

'_Please…' _


	16. Tree Training and Sasuke’s Discovery

**SUMMARY: **Kakashi's begun training Team 7 how to climb trees with no hands! Tori goes off alone to avoid distraction, and Sasuke finally finds out the source of her abilities… as well as a way to control her ligress.

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 16: Tree Training and Sasuke's Discovery**

Under the covers was…

Tori couldn't believe her luck.

"Pillows… it's just pillows," she turned around and glared at Sakura, "Would ya stop looking at me like I'm a slut or something? Jeez…"

Sakura's expression nearly made her die. _'She's suspicious… aw, crap…'_

"Who did you think was under there, anyway?"

Sakura turned and left, refusing to answer. Tori slumped. Her secret was mostly safe… Sakura had no proof or witness to anything serious…

But she had to cut it out. If Sasuke came up to her all chummy and whatnot… she'd just let him have it, like always. Hopefully, Sakura would lay off.

Her chance came sooner than she thought. Sasuke walked in, leaning against the door.

"Sakura, what're you doing? Kakashi says we've gotta go, now."

Sakura turned around, all smiles and chirps, "Ok, Sasuke! I was just getting Tori up, and…"

"She can very well do that herself, let's-"

A pillow smacked him in the head before he could finish.

"GET THE HELL OUTTA MY ROOM!"

If _that_ didn't throw Sakura off, Tori figured she was as good as screwed.

Sasuke glared at her, and chucked the pillow back, signaling for Sakura to follow him.

Tori flopped back as soon as they were gone. _'Phew… at least he's acting normal again…'_

She clambered out of bed, still slightly wincing from soreness, and slipped her shoes on. She went into the bathroom to fix her ponytail back and splash water on her face before heading downstairs.

Kakashi took Team 7 out into the woods, where they found a large clearing surrounded by tall pine trees.

"Ok, before we begin, I think we should review the basics of chakra," said Kakashi, shifting on his crutches.

"Uhm… yeah… what's that again?" Naruto asked sheepishly. Sakura went ballistic.

"Are you _serious_?" Tori looked over at the boy. Kakashi looked about ready to keel over.

"DID YOU NOT PAY ATTENTION AT ALL IN CLASS OR WHAT?" was what partly consisted of Sakura's rant.

"Well… I did get a lotta sleep…" Naruto protested.

"Sakura… if you would be so kind…" Kakashi stated, and Sakura's anger turned to energy for the apparently long lecture she was about to give.

Tori didn't really pay attention. She couldn't get her mind off what that thing was that possessed her during the fight with Zabuza.

She fumbled inside her shirt and drew out the necklace. She wondered if this had anything to do with it… She rubbed the blue crystal heart in between her fingers before tucking it back inside.

"Yeah…" Naruto's voice changing the atmosphere made Tori look up, "uhm… I didn't really get all that, but if you'd show me, I'll learn it easy!"

Sakura looked about ready to throttle him, but Sasuke pitched in,

"We already know how to use chakra, Kakashi-sensei. We've used it in techniques before…"

"Nope, sorry," Kakashi cut in, "None of you has truly mastered your chakra. Each different type of jutsu requires different amounts of energy. You can summon up as much chakra as you want for the jutsu, but you've got to maintain balance. If you don't, the effectiveness will be reduced to nothing and your jutsu won't work at all… you will have also wasted energy. You can't fight a long battle if you waste your chakra like that, no matter how much stamina you have."

"Well… what do we do?" asked Naruto.

"Undergo the strictest training and gain experience, as well as control of your chakra and body…"

"And this strictest training would be…?" Tori had a feeling she wouldn't like it.

Kakashi smiled, "Climbing trees!"

"Huh? I can climb trees in my sleep, for crying out loud! How the heck is this training?" Tori protested.

"Now, you didn't let me finish," Kakashi stated, "You can't use your hands."

The four genin fell silent, stunned.

"Let me show you," said Kakashi. He placed his hands together in a sign, then walked towards a tree, placing his foot on the bark… and walking?

"What the…" Tori's eyes widened as Kakashi walked up the tree… on crutches…

Kakashi reached a branch and walked on the underside of it, hanging from it and looking down at the teammates.

"You see? Put your energy into the soles of your feet, and use it to stick to the trunk."

"And this is going to help us how?" asked Sakura.

"I'm getting there. The point is to maximize control of your chakra. Obtain that, and you can easily master any jutsu."

'_Ok… got it so far…'_ Tori thought.

"You'll need delicate precision with this. You can't use too much or too little chakra in your feet, and you'll also need to be able to do this in battle. Standing around trying to work with your chakra will mean instant death. In short, this tree-climbing might save your lives one day, so master it!"

He chucked four kunai at them from his pocket, embedding them in the ground at their feet.

"Time for action." Kakashi walked down the trunk, "Use the kunai to mark your progress on the tree as you get higher. I know none of you will reach the top on your first try, and it'd be good to get a running head start. Now, pick your trees and go."

Tori put her hands together, readying to steady the flow of her chakra, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"You… come with me," said Kakashi softly. Tori frowned in concern, but followed her sensei out of the trees, feeling the eyes of her teammates on her.

When they were out of earshot, Kakashi stopped and faced her.

"Well… I can't say I was expecting it," he said. Tori cocked her head at him. Kakashi smiled, "That 'help' you gave me with Zabuza."

Tori flinched. She'd forgotten Kakashi had seen her! "Uhm… well…"

"Where did you get that necklace? You didn't have it when we started training," said Kakashi.

"I found it."

"Where?"

"At the bottom of a pond. Why? Do you know what it is?"

Kakashi sighed, "No… but you shouldn't do that, Tori. That necklace very well could be a trap laid out by another village to attack us!"

"But it's not dangerous, it just…"

"Gives you this incredible power to control water?" asked Kakashi.

"…And turns me into a mermaid…" Tori meeped.

"Tori, it would be safest if you'd just give me the necklace now."

"I-I can't, Kakashi-sensei…"

"And why not?"

"I… I can't take it off."

"What do you mean?"

"The clasp disappeared… I'm serious! Look for yourself!" Tori held out the necklace chain to him. Kakashi ran the length of it through his fingers. Surely enough, he couldn't find one.

"Tori… this isn't good."

"Tell me about it… I was sore as all get-out after that thing used a bunch of my chakra to help you…"

"It's not just that. Your natural chakra is supposed to be of the lightning consistency. Having something that uses water jutsu… well… it's a deadly combination. It could tear you apart from the inside out. Lightning reacts violently to water, and… did you say 'that thing'?"

"Yeah, I wasn't the one who moved the water into your attack. I did want to help, I really did, and then… all of a sudden, my body was out of my control, and when I did regain control, a chunk of my chakra was gone, and I was dead exhausted!"

"On the boat…"

"Yeah, I wanted to drench Sasuke for being an ass, and before I knew it… oh, shit…"

"Tori, this is dangerous! You never just pick things like that up and put them on!"

"But… but… I didn't know it was anything other than a normal necklace! I jumped underwater with it in the pond back at Konoha, and I transformed! I was freaked, and tried to take it off, but the clasp was gone, and…"

"I don't believe this…" Kakashi mused.

Tori felt ready to cry, "I… I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei…" She didn't want him to be mad at her.

He sighed and put a hand on her head, "We'll just have to work with it. It might not be such a bad thing… you did save Naruto, after all."

Tori looked up. Kakashi was giving her an exasperated look, "Let's get back so you can train, shall we?"

She nodded slightly, putting the necklace back in her shirt, "Oh, Kakashi-sensei…"

"Yes?"

"Please… uhm… don't tell the others about this."

"Like I told them about the ligress?"

"You _WHAT_?"

"It means my lips are sealed, Tori…" Kakashi winked at her. Tori huffed, but then smiled, hopping after him back to the clearing.

Naruto and Sasuke were already at it, the competitive edge unmistakable in their actions.

Tori looked around for Sakura, noticing with surprise that she was already really high… much higher than the other two.

She stepped back a bit, towards the edge of the clearing. Kakashi looked back at her.

"And just where are you going?"

"I won't be able to concentrate properly with them around. I've never been good at this sort of thing, so I think I just need some privacy."

Kakashi sighed and passed her a kunai, "Fine then, but don't go too far."

Tori wandered off, finding another, smaller clearing with equally high trees, probably much farther away than Kakashi would've liked, but she didn't care.

She breathed deep, putting her hands together to focus the chakra in her feet. The result was a turmoil of energy she could barely control. She gritted her teeth angrily. It'd always been like this. Was she really so hopeless?

She looked inwardly to her ligress to see if she could be of some use. The big cat was restless, as usual, thinking only of ways to stretch her claws and let loose a bit.

'_A little help here would be nice, you know.'_ She mumbled inwardly at the feline. She'd had a chakra burnout against Zabuza, but the chakra hadn't been her ligress's, so the cat was still brimming with unused energy.

With her ligress this angsty, she didn't think she'd ever get the energy under the proper control. She had to try, though.

The swells of energy fought against her as she struggled to narrow them into her feet. She knew her ligress, and potentially the other spirit now stuck to her because of this necklace, were the causes of her lack of control, though she wondered if she'd have been any better at it without them...

She managed to get a small amount down into her soles, but even this amount was constantly fluctuating.

She ran for the tree, planting her feet on it to run up. The wood splintered on contact, and she lost her balance, falling a couple feet to land square on her back. Air knocked out of her, she fought to regain control of her lungs, panting.

Once she recovered, she sat up, looking at the two smashed-in footprints on the trunk of the tree that barely extended four feet off the ground. She'd gotten that high mostly off propulsion than anything.

Discouraged, she stood up again.

_**A few hours later…**_

The sun began to set. Tori sat on the ground, exhausted. She looked up miserably at her poor progress; she'd barely gotten eight feet off the ground at her highest point.

"Man, do I suck at this or what?" she mumbled angrily.

She kept trying, the evening light fading to complete darkness. She managed to reach the top of her marks, slashing about six inches higher than her current record. She was about to launch herself off the tree and land on her feet when a noise caused her to stumble.

Her feet slipped off the trunk, and she plummeted, only to land in a pair of arms.

Sasuke's eyes glinted at her triumphantly, "Well, seems I've found where you've been hiding all day."

She glared, shoving herself out of his grip, nearly falling again once she was back on her own feet.

He sighed, glancing over at her progress. "Wow… you really suck at this."

Already angry at his intrusion, she became furious at his own confirmation of her feelings.

She hauled out, slapping him across the face, noting that he too was exhausted and too tired to dodge quickly enough.

"Thanks, jackass. Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna go find a place where I can keep going without you bugging me."

Sasuke looked livid, massaging the red mark on his face.

"Kakashi said we have to go back for dinner," he snapped.

"The last place I'm going is anywhere you're going to be. Not like my room provides any protection."

His eyes narrowed, "And you think the forest will?" His tone grew deadly.

Her heart began to pound as she realized her situation. Alone in the forest… on land, where he could clearly outrun her… Without waiting for him to pounce, she turned and ran, the ligress responding to the adrenaline rush and fueling her escape.

'_Oh sure, NOW you wanna help!'_

Her speed increased substantially, propelling her with a force she couldn't even comprehend. This was somewhat bad for Sasuke's suspicions, but at the moment, she didn't care.

The trees whipped by, and she looked back to see, with horror, that Sasuke was close… dangerously close. How the hell was he so fast?!

Worse yet, she looked ahead of her to see a cliff looking out over the open sea. _'…Shit.'_

She had only two options; lose speed and try to turn to run along the cliff, or go over it.

As scared as she was right now, option two seemed the better match; she could breathe underwater, right?

She tried to gather more speed, and she sensed Sasuke's shock; he saw what she was planning. His speed seemed to increase more than hers.

Just a few yards more… she could make it…

A hand on her collar brought several kinds of fear flooding throughout her system. She tried to jump away, but Sasuke's reactions were like a constrictor snake. He grabbed her up so tightly in his arms that she couldn't move no matter how hard she tried to thrash. He skidded to a stop, pressing her tightly against him.

"What… the hell…" he panted, "were you… planning on doing?!"

Tori refused to talk to him. She was a captive; her instincts were responding accordingly.

She struggled to bite him, but he had her bound.

She heard him growl angrily, and she suddenly felt something sharp press hard against her neck. Tori could only assume it was Sasuke's teeth. Why was he biting her?

Completely out of her control, her body suddenly slumped, losing its will to fight immediately. Panic began to well up in Tori's body, but her ligress wasn't rising up to defend her the way she usually did when she was scared.

The big cat had no desire to test Sasuke, and had withdrawn. Tori could see her on the floor in her mind, her ears back in defeat. What was going on?!

"Gotcha…" Sasuke whispered triumphantly.

Tori looked back at him as best as she could with horror. What had he done?!

"It's an animal of some sort…"

Her stomach lurched.

"What're you talking about?!"

Sasuke seemed to purr as he rubbed his lips softly against the spot he'd bitten. Tori jerked around, "Don't do that!"

"This animal responds exactly the way I thought it would… When I bit you, it couldn't fight. Its instinct was to give in."

Tori trembled visibly. He knew… and he'd found just how to conquer her, even through the ligress's fury.

"It only responds in that manner to a potential mate; it is the sign of dominance that a male usually lords over a female, so I suppose I should correct myself… she's an animal," the triumph in Sasuke's voice was unmistakable.

Tori couldn't speak. She didn't know how to respond. He had his evidence; the ligress refused to fight anymore. The secret was out.

She tried to struggle helplessly, hoping to get herself out of his grip on her own.

"I see the reduction in your abilities already… she really is quite helpful, isn't she? You're not nearly as strong as you usually are."

"Just stop…" she pleaded. Oh god… this was low, beyond low. She was pleading with Sasuke?!

"So what kind of animal is it? I'm guessing feline by the strength of the reaction I'm getting."

"Please… leave me alone…" Tears began pouring from her eyes. Even she never saw this coming. How could her ligress betray her? Would it do this to anyone who tried it? Was that her weakness?

The ligress emanated negative feelings towards her, trying to communicate.

'_No…?'_ Tori asked, _'then why?'_

An image of Sasuke kissing her and cradling her in his arms appeared. Warm feelings flooded her body, and she realized why. The ligress was responding to Tori's feelings about him.

'_It can't be… I can't truly feel that strongly that you become powerless from a simple action of his.'_

The ligress's head nodded, giving her a knowing look.

'_No! I won't believe it! Look at what he's doing!'_

With or without the ligress's help, she thrashed. Sasuke glared, keeping her pinned.

"Without her, you don't stand a chance."

"Shut up! You know nothing about me!"

He would pay for this.

A surge of power, less violent than Tori was accustomed to, welled up. She recognized it immediately as the entity that had assisted Kakashi against Zabuza.

Her ligress was out… but she wasn't down for the count.

A small explosion of energy knocked Sasuke back, freeing her. Tori took the opportunity while he was dazed to run for it, making her way back to the house. The safety of Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto's presences would keep him at bay, this she was sure of.

The spirit was fueling her with its power, diminished from the fight with Zabuza, but enough to keep her exhausted body moving as they raced for the house.

Tori didn't bother looking behind her for Sasuke; best thing was for her to just assume he was on the move and run like hell.

Tori stopped to catch her breath as she reached the front door before entering.

Her teammates were gathered at the dinner table with Tsunami, Inari, and Tazuna.

Kakashi looked up, "Look who finally decided to join us… were you running? And where's Sasuke? I sent him to get you."

"Oh, we had a race and I whooped him bad," Tori gave a triumphant grin, "I expect he'll be along shortly."

Speak of the devil as he entered, his eyes burning through the back of her head. A shiver ran internally through her body. She sat down at the table, not daring to leave Sakura's side, though she had to reconsider her buddy options. Sasuke wouldn't give a damn about revealing them to her.

Would Naruto work? Would he care if Naruto knew? Kakashi would certainly be able to keep him away, but he wasn't always around. Naruto seemed her only choice; maybe there'd be some foolish male pride that would keep Sasuke from being all mushy with her around him. But then again… surely Sasuke knew that if Naruto found out about them, he'd probably tell Sakura.

Tori looked at the food on the table, not wanting to touch it anymore, but she put a small amount on her plate to be polite and force-fed herself while Naruto was wolfing his down. She finished what she could and waited for Naruto to get done. He was the best of the three options.

As soon as he was done, he gave a loud yawn, "Thanks, lady, that was an awesome dinner!" He flashed his big, goofy grin at Tsunami, who smiled happily at the compliment.

"Yes, it was!" Tori pretended to chirp. She followed Naruto to the kitchen, where they rinsed their plates off and began heading upstairs. Tori pretended to not be following, though she wondered if she was giving Naruto too much credit. He didn't notice anything as he waltzed into his room, shutting the door behind him. Before she had a chance to be alone in the hallway for more than a split second, she darted into her room and barred the door.

She didn't relax until every window was locked with the curtains over it, then crawled into bed. She wondered how long she could keep this up. Sasuke would now be suspicious of that new source of energy. If she hadn't used it, though… she wondered what would've happened.

She shook it out of her head, falling into a fitful sleep.


	17. Fighting Alone

**SUMMARY: **Sasuke's efforts have reached a new level. With Zabuza closing in, Team 7 can only hope that their new training will pay off.

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 17: Fighting Alone**

The next morning saw Tori out at the clearing with Naruto. The second she'd heard him leaving his room - he wasn't exactly quiet - she'd thrown her clothes on to head out with him.

They trained in silence, Naruto noticing that Tori couldn't handle her chakra at all. She looked up in dismay at how high he'd progressed compared to her measly eight feet.

"It's hard for me too, ya know," he said, breaking the silence, almost startling her, "Sasuke and Sakura… they seem to have it so easy. Sakura reached the top of her tree several times before the end of yesterday, and Sasuke always manages to keep ahead of me."

Tori's head hung, "Yeah… but you're making progress." She glared at her tree as if it was offending her, "I've gained four fucking feet."

He grinned, "That's progress, isn't it?"

Tori sighed, "You're right… I don't need to be so down about it, though Sasuke drowning my motivations last night didn't help at all."

"What?"

"He saw how far I'd gotten and told me I sucked."

"…And?"

Tori went quiet. She was such an idiot; she'd allowed one of Sasuke's insults to affect her.

Her teeth gritted, "Damn me and my stupid sensitivity! He has no authority to judge my progress! He doesn't know how hard this is for me!"

"That's the spirit! Come on! Keep going!" chirped the boy.

With renewed determination, fueled by desire to prove Sasuke wrong, Tori focused her overactive chakra into her feet, angrily commanding it to obey when it resisted. She was sick of being out of control.

She ran for the tree, launching up the trunk.

Her mind was in her feet, keeping the chakra stabilized, and she just barely managed to regain her senses in time to slash the trunk when she lost control enough to lose her grip. She kicked off the tree with her other foot and landed on the ground. Naruto had just finished another run and was standing still, staring.

Tori looked at the expression on his face and looked up. The new mark stood alone, ten feet up above the others. She grinned. It wasn't anywhere near as high as Naruto's marks, but that was progress if ever she'd seen it.

"Hehehe! You see what happens when you have something to prove?" Naruto thwapped her on the back and went back to his tree. Tori watched him leave and smiled happily. It was funny… with just one word he'd stoked the fire and encouraged her to do better.

Tori continued in that manner for the rest of the morning, blocking Sasuke out of her mind as he entered the clearing, looking at her tree in confusion before going to his own to continue. An internal smirk spread wide across her mind.

Sakura never showed up, and Tori was too stubborn to ask Sasuke where she was, though she figured it had something to do with Naruto's story of how she'd reached the top of her tree several times yesterday. Kakashi probably had her working on something else.

The three of them trained in silence the entire day. Tori's progress hadn't jumped as much after that first leap, but she was working it up little by little. Sasuke and Naruto were giving each other death glares as their marks went higher and higher. By the end of the day they were both close to the top. Tori managed to reach a high limb on hers and jumped onto it for fun. She experimented walking along it with her chakra cementing her to it.

An hour or so later, as the sun set and it grew dark, Tori heard rustling in the branches above her as she rested on a limb. She jumped up, holding herself to the branch with her chakra, kunai out.

Sasuke dropped down onto the branch, looking at her quizzically, "Put that away," he snapped.

Tori glared, "Maybe I don't feel like it."

"You see me as a threat?"

"No, I just feel like fulfilling that promise I made a while back that I'd rearrange your face with no anesthetics."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "I was coming to say let's head back for some dinner. As usual, you're less than welcoming."

"I don't wanna go anywhere alone with you, pal."

Sasuke's trademark evil smirk appeared.

"Why might that be?" His tone rang with false innocence.

"We both know why."

"In any case, we should all head back." Sasuke's eyes never left her face, though Tori avoided eye contact with him.

"Hey Naruto!" Tori yelled without turning away, lowering her kunai.

The boy appeared on a limb higher up, looking down at them.

"What's up?"

"Do you wanna head back for dinner?" Tori purposely ignored the literal half of that question.

"No way! I gotta keep training!"

"Gotcha; that was all I wanted to know." Tori's gaze was hard on Sasuke's features, "I'm not going anywhere if he isn't."

"Is that so?" Sasuke took a step towards her.

"I'll go enlist Naruto's help if you insist on fighting over this."

"You're really that weak that you'd rely on that doofus?"

"That DOOFUS is the reason I've progressed as much as I have today!"

Tori couldn't miss what flew across Sasuke's face: fierce, clawing anger. In a flash, it was gone.

"You've been spending a lot of time with him since last night," Sasuke's voice was quiet.

"He makes for good company, and he's very motivational. What's it to you?" She didn't dare tell him the real reason she'd been hanging around Naruto, but now that she thought about it, what she said hadn't been a lie.

Sasuke shook his head hard, apparently having an internal struggle.

"I'm giving you one more chance to come quietly."

Tori raised her kunai again, "Just try it."

She soon wished she hadn't uttered that statement. Sasuke was on her like a typhoon, whirling her around to slam her against the tree trunk, holding the hand with the weapon above her head while the other was restrained to her side.

His gaze pierced her before she could even close her eyes, and the power flooded through her mind, taking it over in seconds. She tried to get her ligress to fight back, but Sasuke sensed the resistance, silencing it using the move he'd learned the other night. His teeth sank down hard on her neck, causing the ligress to turn away immediately.

She had no more mental strength to call upon the other spirit, and sank to the limb, Sasuke carefully following to make sure she was out. Checking to make sure Naruto hadn't witnessed the events, Sasuke swung Tori onto his back and carried her through the trees to the house.

As he entered, Tori was only barely aware of the words being spoken around her.

"She passed out?"

"Yeah, gonna go dump her in her room real quick, I'll be right back."

He made it sound so casual; least he wasn't implying anything.

As Sasuke closed the door to her room and tucked her in, his soft, crooning voice began echoing through her head.

'_Come with me to the clearing tomorrow… stay by my side…'_

She fell away from the world into sleep, gratefully welcoming the darkness.

_**The next morning…**_

Soft footsteps and the opening of her door awoke Tori the next morning as Sasuke came in. She glared deeply, and almost yelled for him to get out, when his eyes flashed red at her and she grew very calm.

'_What's… going on?'_

'_Come with me…'_

Her body moved of its own accord, trailing behind him as he walked out of the house and down towards the clearing. She struggled internally, but to no avail.

Along the trail, Sasuke suddenly stopped, as did she. A girl… or was it a guy… walked towards them calmly. The dark eyes fixed on Sasuke first, then slid back to Tori.

Tori wanted to look after the kid as he/she walked by, but her body wasn't currently in her control.

'_Who…?'_

'_Must be terrible to have no free will…'_ a small, quiet voice echoed in her head. Sasuke jumped and jerked around to stare after the kid, glaring.

Tori knew that had been a tantalizing comment, but towards her or Sasuke, she couldn't tell. If it had been towards her, she'd accept it without insult. She deserved it for being so weak that Sasuke could take her over.

But jeez, his ass was so toast whenever she got free.

"Good thing I don't intend to free you…" Sasuke muttered softly. Inwardly, Tori flared up.

He seemed on guard, obviously for whatever tricks she'd managed to pull last time.

They seemed to quicken their pace towards the clearing. Naruto was sitting up in the grass, looking after the kid that had just left with his head cocked to one side.

"You've been out here all night?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Naruto snapped.

"Loser; can't even make it back to the house to sleep in a bed instead of on the ground like a dog."

"What'd you say?" Naruto jumped up, furious.

"You heard me."

Naruto seemed to notice that Tori wasn't jumping to his defense like usual, though she was furiously struggling against Sasuke's control.

"Tori? You ok?" Naruto asked, all anger for Sasuke dissipating instantly.

"She has a headache, leave her alone," Sasuke snapped.

"Since when do YOU care about her well being, huh? What're you two doing walking out here together when she can't normally stand the sight of you?"

Tori still struggled.

"Why do you care? She's my teammate; if she's performing poorly it'll affect me too, doofus."

"I don't believe you."

"Then how do you explain it? She just happened to come out the same time I did, dumbass."

Naruto didn't really seem to have a solid conclusion to his deduction trail.

Inwardly, Sasuke directed Tori to begin training on her tree.

Naruto huffed, giving a "Whatever" in Sasuke's direction before resuming his training.

The three of them trained in silence again, and slowly, Tori began to win the fight. About an hour after sunset much later that day, she managed to lower the chakra amount in one of her feet just enough…

She began falling, plummeting a good twenty feet from her most recent progress point before landing with a sickening thud on the ground.

This, of course, didn't go unnoticed in the silent clearing.

Her head was spinning; what she'd done really wasn't healthy, and now she hurt in her neck, head, back, and other places. But all she needed was…

"TORI!"

The voice seemed to echo as though from far away.

The ground shook as two pairs of feet hit it, running over to her crumpled form. A pair of arms grabbed her up into someone's lap; she could only assume it was Sasuke, as Naruto would've never been that intimate.

"Wake up! Wake up, damn you!"

Boy, he sounded real upset…

"What the hell is wrong with her?"

"Tori!"

Her eyes opened; she was careful to keep them looking dazed. She groaned a bit for added effect.

"Must've been some headache to have thrown off her chakra control," Naruto mused.

Sasuke was really close to her face… perfect.

Before anything else could happen, Tori struck, punching Sasuke in the face as hard as she could.

"You… son of a bitch…" Tori snarled deeply, getting to her feet shakily. Everything hurt tremendously.

Sasuke was covering his cheek, which had already begun to swell up, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"EXCUSE ME? What's wrong with ME? You're gonna pay, you filthy, slimy snake!"

Sasuke jumped to his feet as she charged, dodging out of the way. Her head throbbed, spreading down her back, to her shoulders with each pulse of pain.

Naruto was apparently thoroughly confused, but sided with Tori.

"I dunno what you did, Sasuke, but it didn't sound like anything to just be let go. I doubt she'd have punched you otherwise."

"Stay out of this, idiot, you don't know anything about it!" Sasuke snapped, nearly receiving a swaying roundhouse kick to the face from Tori.

"Leave him alone!" she snarled, struggling to stay balanced. So much pain...

Sasuke sensed her weakness; she saw his eyes glinting as he formulated a new plan.

Tori charged again, still way off as Sasuke easily dodged.

"Hey Tori, chill out, you don't look so good," Naruto said, clearly concerned at this point. The look on her face must've been obvious; damn.

The pain began to increase, at least it seemed so. Worse than that, her disorientation grew.

She looked at Naruto, "You're right… he… really isn't worth it…" she grunted out.

Naruto walked over to her, but before he could reach her, she crumpled onto the ground, unable to stand anymore, and Sasuke was there, picking her up.

"I'm taking her back; she shouldn't be out here like this."

Naruto looked at him, bewildered.

"Why you? She's pissed at you!"

"Doesn't matter; can't just leave a sick girl out in the woods, can I?"

Naruto didn't seem able to disagree there.

"I'm… not… sick!" Tori struggled.

"Shut up, I'm taking you back to the house."

"Don't talk to a girl like that!"

"Shut up, idiot!"

"Don't talk to… Naruto like… that!"

Sasuke turned and strode angrily out of the clearing before Naruto could interfere any more.

Once they were out of earshot, Tori could hear Sasuke's voice mutter, "Now that we have some alone time…"

The pain lessened incredibly, but Tori still didn't feel able to stand.

She looked at him, disgusted.

"You couldn't make me fall in love with you off the bat, and you couldn't do it by trying to hit on me, so you resort to full control with genjutsu, is that it? Is your idea of our relationship gonna be me being your mindless puppet?"

"Just until you can learn to trust me."

"How the fuck can I trust you when you pull shit like this?"

He sighed, "I dunno… I wish you'd given me a better chance before."

"You forced your chances out of me! I never wanted any from the start!"

"Well I did!"

"Well it takes two to tango!"

"…What?"

"That means both of us need to want it!"

"Then I guess I'll keep trying _until_ you want it!"

"Do it! I'd love to see how long you last! Don't expect me to cave though!"

She wrestled out of his arms and tried standing up to march away, but fell straight over. Sasuke gathered her up, snickering.

"If you keep winding up in these states, it won't be hard."

"Not my fault I wound up like this."

"Good, then I'll have to keep this up."

"You disgusting…"

"Quiet," Sasuke put a finger on her mouth, "We're at the house."

Tori tried and failed to bite the appendage off.

Sasuke walked her in, Kakashi looking up, exasperated.

"Again?"

"Yup."

Tori glared.

"What happened this time?"

"Nasty headache, caused her to fall about twenty feet from her tree."

Kakashi put two fingers on either side of his nose bridge.

"Whatever. Put her up, then go back to training."

"Of course."

Her bed was quite a welcoming thing, but she waited till Sasuke was gone to climb off and stagger into the bathroom. She needed a bath to get the sweat off before she'd lie down. Baths always helped relieve pain too.

She climbed into the hot water when it was ready and relaxed, washing her hair and body thoroughly before lying back to enjoy it.

She missed Sasuke's hot springs… his dripping hair, glowing eyes, bare torso…

Her eyes popped open, and she scrubbed her face again as if to rid herself of the image.

_'I don't like anything to do with him…!'_

She crawled into bed, feeling much better physically, but mentally the pictures of him still plagued her well into the night.

Later on, just before she finally fell asleep, she heard murmurs outside her window. Naturally, Sasuke had left it open, probably so he could watch her sleep, damn creeper.

"...Like you, Naruto also grew up without a father."

That was Kakashi's voice. Was he talking to Inari?

"...he's never known his parents... never even had a single friend..."

Tori turned her head towards the window. Yeah... Naruto was also alone, wasn't he? Like Sasuke... She almost said like herself, too... but she thought of the Harunos. It'd be downright emo and selfish to say they hadn't been there for her, taking her in and raising her with their own daughter... a monster, living under their own roof. Just because her real parents were no longer alive didn't mean she was alone. She tucked herself up into a ball, listening further.

"...truth is, he's had a rougher past than you... and I've never seen him cry or complain..."

Naruto... besides being awesome at motivating her... he really was good at motivating himself, too. Tori stuffed her face in the covers. That kid really did deserve more than what was given to him...

Some of the words blurred past her tired ears, but she caught one last thing,

"For a dream like that, he'd risk his life anytime... he's probably sick and tired of crying..."

The first time she'd ever seen him... he'd been trying so hard to impress his peers, herself included... and when it failed, not a single tear fell from his eyes.

She hugged her pillow, the soreness and headache beginning to catch up with her again. One day... she thought to herself, maybe I can have that kind of personal strength too...

_**The next morning…**_

Tori opened her eyes suddenly to a crash downstairs; the sun was way up. How long had she been asleep?

Slowly, her ears began tuning in, the crash had awoken her… what was going on…? Nothing but low talking until…

"MOM!"

"INARI, STAY AWAY!"

In a flash, Tori was out of bed and scrambling for her clothes. Her body was so sore… straining to lie back down, and her head was beginning to hurt again.

'_God damn Sasuke all to hell! If I die trying to fight these guys off because he weakened me with his stupid genjutsu I will come the fuck back from the dead to beat his ass!'_

She threw on her headband quickly and raced down the stairs barefoot.

"…I mean, we only need one hostage."

"Should I kill him, then?" A voice snickered, Tori heard the slow draw of a blade unsheathing.

She tensed, readying to go. If they so much as took a step toward Inari…

"STOP! If you touch him I'll bite my tongue and drown in my own blood! You need a hostage right?"

"Mmm, fine then. Let's go." The blade sheathed. One of them stood back while the other tied up Tsunami.

"Damn... I wanted to cut something, too..." said the one hanging back.

'_Dammit… I need surprise if I'm gonna fend those two off in my state… ugh…'_

She'd wait for them to leave, then take them out in the open. In these cramped quarters she'd be at a disadvantage with those blades of theirs.

She heard them stand Tsunami up and head out of the now-busted front door.

She was about to step out when she heard two smaller feet dash out after them.

'_No…! Inari!'_

"STOP!"

Tori came out from behind the wall and headed for the door. There went the element of surprise… jeez.

Inari stood outside on the dock, "Get away from my mom!" He charged towards them.

Straining against her pained muscles, Tori barged out, darting in front of Inari and smacking her kunai up into the two swords that had been aimed for his torso.

"Nnngggh…" The effort was terrible, her arms were screaming. Inari almost ran into her from behind.

"Tori!"

"Miss Tsunami! Get Inari out of here!" Tori yelled. Inari ran around the thugs. One broke from Tori's hold and swung at the boy, but Tori stabbed him in the arm and moved back between them and the fleeing mother and son.

She knew she was visibly trembling; here she was in her first real fight alone… and she was barely strong enough to stand.

One of them looked behind her, "They're getting away! Knock this bitch out so we can move on!"

The other shoved past her roughly, earning a slash in the side from her kunai knife, but he kept on, yelping but mostly unfazed. Tori began to chase him when a blinding pain shot through her back, followed by a dull slam to the left side of her already-throbbing head, throwing her off the dock to the right and into the water.

_'No match even for mere thugs… way to go, Tori…'_

Her head was about to split, her back was searing from the salt water, and she couldn't do anything to save the two she'd been charged with protecting.

Above the surface as she sank, she saw an orange blur tackle the thugs.

_'Naruto… thank God…'_

She closed her eyes as she sank deeper. _'Just lemme rest here… for a minute…'_

Her necklace pulsed.

_'Oh shit…'_

Her headache vanished, her back seemed to knit itself back together, and her sore muscles disappeared. _'What the…'_

Her tail emerged. She darted below the dock before Naruto could have a chance to look into the water for her, her tail working like a giant spring and almost propelling her straight into a pylon. Luckily, being so close to shore, the water was murky, but she didn't know if she was deep enough to mask her tail.

Feeling better, she popped up to the surface, breaking the water gratefully as her tail disappeared.

"TORI!" Naruto was shouting into the water. Tori saw him removing his jacket as though he was about to jump in.

"Over here!" she called, coughing a bit from the sea water.

Naruto stopped and ran over to the other side, sticking his hand out for her to grab onto.

"Are you ok? Those guys really weren't all that tough…"

Tori climbed out and sat up on the dock. The two thugs were knocked out cold. She coughed a bit more.

"I'm fine… I just… nah, no need to hear it…"

"Tori…" Naruto gave her a stern look. "I remember… years ago…"

Tori's eyes went wide. He was there, wasn't he? Jumping on her as she lunged for Iruka... the day Kurama had...

"Point is… you're strong. Really strong. Those guys shouldn't have touched you. I'll ask again. What happened?"

Inari looked on, eyes wide.

"I have no excuse." Tori stood up, squeezing out her sleeves and reorganizing her soaking wet, salty hair into a tighter ponytail. The jackass had cut her jumpsuit along the lower back, she'd have to stitch that up later. "I'll just do better next time." She really didn't have an excuse now, she couldn't explain how all her handicaps from that fight mysteriously disappeared when she fell in the water.

Naruto screwed up his face at her answer, but nodded after a moment.

"Hard to argue with my own logic. Let's get these jerks tied up and join the others, okay?"

"Roger."

Leaping through the trees, they finally reached the bridge, only to see it surrounded by mist.

"Zabuza… he's back." Tori gritted her teeth.

"Yeah, but we're new and improved, right?" chirped Naruto, "Let's show him how Konoha ninja handle the scene!"

Tori looked over at him. Once again, fire under her ass: lit. She smiled.

"Yeah, let's kick some ass!"

They ran towards the scene, only to stop as a strange sight beheld them… and an awful sound greeted Tori's ears.

Sasuke was surrounded by icy mirrors… and screaming.

Her heart dropped into her stomach.

"SA-!" Naruto clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Wait," he said, watching closely. Through the mirrors, the two saw Sakura charging them.

"Sasuke!" she yelled, throwing a kunai in between the slabs of ice.

The image, surprisingly identical to the boy who'd 'killed' Zabuza and taken his body, suddenly became solid as it sprang out of one of the mirrors, catching the kunai.

Before Tori could register, a shuriken was loosed from Naruto, and slammed into the boy's face.

_'Wow…!'_

The boy flew out of the mirrors onto the ground, and Sasuke quieted.

Naruto launched in, loudly announcing his arrival, like usual.

Tori tuned him out as her eyes zoomed in on Sasuke. He sat up, cuts all over his arms and legs, though for the most part, he didn't appear seriously hurt. Tori sighed softly in relief, though it did make her wonder, he'd been on the ground and had appeared incredibly vulnerable, why hadn't the boy killed him?

Naruto's speech ended, immediately followed by whizzing shuriken from Zabuza and Kakashi's direction.

"Naruto!" Tori jumped up, kunai out and ready to help deflect the stars, until they dropped to the ground on their own, counteracted by needles.

"Haku, what're you doing?" Zabuza yelled from across the way. Haku must've been the boy with the mask.

"Please, allow me to fight them my way, Zabuza-san…" said the boy.

That voice… Tori knew she'd heard it somewhere else besides him. A small, quiet voice…

"Tch… soft as always…" said Zabuza, turning back to Kakashi.

Tori suddenly realized that Naruto was gone. Looking ahead, she saw he'd hopped right in between… the mirrors…

She couldn't have hit her face on her palm harder. They could've possibly helped Sasuke get out if they'd stayed outside! Now it was up to her.

"Hey kid…"

Tori leaped and turned around to look behind her. From the water scattered on the ground rose a clone of Zabuza, leering at her.

'_He can fight Kakashi and keep a clone up too? The hell?'_

She growled. _'No, I feel fine now… I won't go down as easy as I did before!'_

She readied a kunai in each hand, and the clone struck.

Swinging his blade, Tori noticed it was fairly slow. She leaped up, planting her foot on it, focusing the chakra into her feet as hard as she could to glue herself to it.

'_Remember the tree branches!'_

The swinging slowed as the clone lost momentum, and she slashed at the clone's arm before jumping off. Water sprayed out, but the clone kept his form, laughing down at her.

"So weak, that was barely a pinprick!"

Tori gritted her teeth. Yes, she was weak… by herself, she had a lot to learn. At this time though, calling on the ligress wasn't an option. The mist was thick, but she wouldn't go undetected. Kakashi knew about the cat, and if she revealed this to Zabuza and he got away again… her secret would be out in case any of the villages were looking for it.

So, her only option was to hope she could defeat this clone. But what did she have? By herself she didn't have many jutsu mastered aside from the tai- variety.

But... she did have clones of her own.

She dodged Zabuza's clone again and hopped away, quickly making the hand signs, her chakra forming more easily into the three sections, though she didn't give them near as much chakra as she did for the test. She infused them with energy and let loose.

Three clones appeared around her, kunai knives out at the ready.

"You brat… such a simple jutsu and you think it'll stand any chance against me?"

"If you're not the real Zabuza… then yeah, I don't see why not."

She charged, her clones flanking her. Zabuza knew where she was and swung. Dodging fairly easily, Tori aimed a kick at his face, only to have his elbow block it. She pushed off his elbow with her failed attack and watched as her clones closed in, aiming for his head.

As the clone killed hers, Tori conjured more. She knew that Zabuza maintaining this was at least holding some of his concentration, and sapping an amount of chakra. She didn't want to kill it lest Zabuza just give up and focus it all on Kakashi, though he could just release the jutsu at any moment, Tori was banking on him being egotistical enough to try and maintain it while fighting Kakashi. While that would leave her to help Sasuke and Naruto, she wasn't quite sure how she could help except meaninglessly flinging kunai that Haku might just catch and throw right at her teammates along with his needles.

She'd summoned a fifth clone to aid the other four she had currently when she stopped dead in her tracks.

Blood…

Sasuke's blood reached her nostrils… lots of it.

Horrified, she turned her head.

Sasuke collapsed, Naruto catching him. Haku stopped his attack, talking to Naruto as the boy leaned over his comrade, visibly shaking.

No…

Sasuke…

Dead?

Something in her swelled up to the breaking point.

And again, the scent reached her… fox.

Naruto began loudly snarling. "I'll kill you!" he roared.

Sasuke's fallen form… Tori fell to her knees, hugging her head as she felt the cat breaking through, sensing her shock.

Or was it… responding, too?

The fox roared inside the ice mirrors. She felt a similar one well up in her throat as Sasuke still didn't move, his body limp and lifeless.

Feral, jagged, and powerful, the ligress roared her challenge, and as she saw Naruto darting from mirror to mirror, chasing Haku, she followed suit from the outside. Where the fox missed, she attacked, slashing with deadly claws from her fingertips. Haku was dodging the best he could, but they were catching up…

"Two of you? How...?" he gasped as he barely missed a swipe of the cat's claws. Obviously, neither was really in a state to answer.

Haku hurled needles out after them, but the ligress had created a barrier of pure electric chakra, and the needles bounced off it harmlessly. The fox had done the same, it seemed.

Haku darted down from the top mirror towards Naruto, but he quickly spun out of the way. Haku turned and ran for the mirrors, but Naruto grabbed his wrist, roaring again. The ligress joined in, their auras exploding and pushing in on Haku from both sides. The mirrors cracked from the force of their chakras. Naruto aimed a huge punch, and a sickening crack resounded as Haku busted through a mirror near Tori, flying backwards.

The Hidden Mist shinobi stood up slowly as the fox leaped out after him, charging in for a final blow. Within range just long enough, a scent caught Tori's nose, and a voice popped up, small and quiet:

'_Must be terrible to have no free will…'_

That face… her eyes penetrated the fog, making out, from under the crumbling mask, the sweet face and dark eyes of the person who'd passed her and Sasuke in the woods, wearing a pink kimono and carrying a basket of herbs. Her ligress backed down, sensing Tori's hesitation.

But he'd… he'd killed Sasuke… Her eyes reverted back to the body where the mirrors shattered, the jutsu collapsing. Haku stood there as the fox closed in.

Before he landed the blow, Naruto stopped, fist inches away from Haku's exposed face.

"Forgot about me…" a sinister voice came from behind Tori.

Before she could turn, something slammed into her right side, bodily hefting her over the side of the bridge… almost a hundred feet down into the water.


	18. What It Means to Die

**SUMMARY:** The fight draws to an end, but at what cost?

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 18: What It Means to Die**

Tori zoomed downwards, covering her face with her arms as she plunged into the water, feeling the impact nearly shatter her bones.

'_What is it with me getting thrown into the water these days…?' _she mused as she sank lower. _'I suppose it doesn't matter… now that he's dead…' _The throbbing pain in her side began to dissipate. The pressure closed in quickly, and she tightened her muscles and turned towards the surface. Her necklace pulsed, her tail emerging. She saw two feet land on the water above her.

'_Hmm… wonder if I should let him kill me? Sakura's parents wouldn't have to put up with my bratty ass anymore…'_

She watched him kneel down on the surface, scanning it for her. The mist had made the water dark and hard to see through.

Her head hung. She didn't think… she hadn't known… how much his death would really mean. It'd never struck her as possible that Sasuke Uchiha, with all his talent and power at such a young age, could die. He'd survived his own clan's extinction…

She sank to the bottom, resting on the sand. He'd been the biggest pain in the ass… but… she held herself, grief finally taking over now that she had a moment to think. Her body wracked itself in pain, contorting into a tight form. She'd claimed to hate him so much… so why did she feel so lost by his death?

He'd been a fighter, for sure… always first to jump in. He'd more than proven his prowess in the first real encounters they had, especially the one first starting out… Despite Kakashi's illusion of death, he maintained focus and easily subdued the attackers within the first few moments.

He wasn't much of a friend though… his form of encouragement was insults. Though in a way, Tori supposed it was his own way of expressing himself without appearing soft.

And… of course… Tori still had the mind-twisting questions about their personal relationship… that she could never have answered now. Maybe his roughness and possessiveness really _had_ been, again, his own way of showing he cared. At this thought, she began to sob. Of course she hadn't thought about this when he was alive… when she could've enjoyed his approaches…

A rumble of laughter above shook her from her thoughts. It had to be a lot of people to have reached her down here…

She scanned the surface. Zabuza's clone was gone. She shook her head.

A true shinobi… couldn't let their emotions lock them up. She breathed deeply to try to calm the tremors in her chest. There would be ample time to grieve later.

'_Truth is, he's had a rougher past than you…'_

Kakashi's words echoed through her mind. Naruto wouldn't cry now, she was sure of it,

'_And I've never once seen him cry or complain…'_

She couldn't cry. Not when there was still a royal ass-whooping to be given. With a flick of her tail, she shot towards the surface, poking her head out and tuning her ears up to listen to what was happening.

She heard a man's voice, old and shrill.

"If you plan on going to the same place as your friend… then go!"

"Unfortunately… I don't plan on going to the same place as Haku…" That was Zabuza's voice! What did he mean? Had Naruto killed Haku after all?

"Y-you won't survive-!" A loud cough sounded.

"You and I together… Are going to HELL!"

Tori heard a disgusting _swick_ and several cries up above. She could only guess at what had happened.

A moment of silence, then several men began screaming. There were lots. Were they in danger? Were they even friendly?

Sakura's voice came over the din.

"SASUKE!" She began to wail loudly. Tori squeezed her eyes shut, trying to tune it out. Worse than almost anything she'd thought herself… was hearing the broken heart of the girl who truly loved him. Her friend… one of her closest friends…

She gritted her teeth. _'Don't do it, Tori! You can't cry now!'_

She channeled her grief into anger, glaring upwards. What threat still remained? She needed to get up there and see what she could do. She doubted all of those men up there were friendly from the sound of their laughter. Determination now took over as she looked around. From her position, it'd be a while before she could reach the top of the bridge to help, and that might be too late. Besides, with her weakness currently in ninjutsu, what could she do to help anyways?

What could…? The spirit…

She looked down at her necklace, which had floated out of her jumpsuit. Furrowing her brow, she decided to see if the mermaid had any ideas.

Diving down, she transformed, letting the mermaid take over her mind.

'_Please… help my friends up there…' _

The creature turned her head towards the surface, and for the first time, Tori heard her voice.

'_A bunch of men… this should be easy…'_

'_What? Wait, some of my friends are men!'_

'_If they are strong and pure of spirit, mind, and heart, they will not suffer… The weak and evil ones, however…'_ She giggled… a dark, cruel sound that Tori soon realized she didn't like.

She inhaled deeply under the water, if you could call it that, opened her mouth, and something came out.

It was dreadful, but beautiful. A song of death was being fabricated using her voice, which was all right originally, but had never amounted to anything remarkable, until now.

She couldn't stop listening. Through it, images of hatred, neglect and abuse played through her mind. Her sorrow was so great already that she wept, internally and externally. These weren't her images, this wasn't her pain completely, but what was hers flowed out of her mouth, coming alive, a monster bigger than the ligress.

The song really did truly seem to be alive, no lyrics, just melody. Tori felt it and the mermaid almost having a battle for dominance as it struggled to take her over and run free, dominating all, even the stronger-willed. The ocean around them even seemed to be affected, growing darker and stormier.

In that moment, it began to happen. All around them, Tori saw bodies falling into the water through the mermaid's eyes, men wielding vicious, savage looking weapons, tools of torture and mistreatment.

'_You see? These pitiful cretins deserve to die… to end this life of suffering they've led. Who knows how many they've killed in their disgusting, greedy pursuit of riches and pleasure? How many poor girls and women were defiled and murdered at their hands? How many lives were ruined and taken away?' _

They began choking, but they couldn't fight… they didn't look like they wanted to. The song had them all spellbound, drowning _willfully_.

The horror Tori had unleashed in this siren of death... through her own grief... was too much for her to bear. As torn as she was by Sasuke's death... she couldn't imagine he would want this for her, to be a killer, especially in a way that rid these men of their will to fight so... completely.

'_Why this? Why not a tidal wave or something, just to knock them off the bridge? Why do they have to die?'_

'_Did you not hear me, girl? They deserve it!' _

Tori struggled, fighting for control, fighting to push her down.

_'They don't...! You can't decide whether someone should live or die!'_

_'They deserve to suffer... to repent for their wicked deeds. They deserve to know the fiery pits of Hell before they have a chance to wreak any more damage!'_

_'Stop it! NO ONE DESERVES TO DIE!'_

The song cut off as Tori screamed, grabbing her throat and forcing the siren back down into her mind. The mermaid fought her, clearly happy with being in control. Tori wrenched control away long enough to flip the tail violently to the surface in an effort to silence the monster for good.

She went too hard and launched clear out of the water, coughing and splashing back down. The tail reverted slowly as the mermaid was forced to retreat, the necklace no longer giving her its power.

Around her, the men came back up, spitting and spluttering, some of them yelling for help as they'd never learned to swim. Without thinking, she swam over to help these men, grabbing them by the collars and hefting them to shore, swimming back out to get more, but never allowing herself back to that forbidden depth where the siren would take over again.

Her shoes were heavy, and she dropped them off on the shore as she pulled more in before racing out to get the last one, swiping below and snagging him by the clothes before he managed to go too deep. She toted him in, releasing him on the beach, and the men backed away as she went to get her shoes. Her legs were shaking, she felt violently sick. All of these faces… what they'd look like, pale and drowning, lifelessness… like her brother… had she not…

She inhaled sharply and grabbed her arm, pinching hard and digging her fingernails in to take her mind away from it.

"She's a ninja too… see the headband? What should we do?"

"She saved our lives…"

"Yeah… that was weird… what on Earth was that?"

Tori stumbled away, climbing the rocks to the hard ground. She scrambled over to some bushes and threw up several times. All those men… almost…

'_Stop it!'_ she told herself, _'You thwarted her, that's what counts! You didn't know she'd do something that bad to try and help!'_

This thing… she needed it gone. Now.

She wrenched on the chain angrily, trying so hard to break it, to no avail. Why her? Why would this thing choose her? Did it know she had a weak mind, easily manipulated by people like Sasuke?

Sasuke… She looked up, panting, still feeling ill, sweaty and shaky all over. Her eyes squeezed shut again as she forced her grief down, choking on the lump in her throat.

She was out of the water… for now… she'd deal with this horror of the sea later. The stories of the sirens singing sailors to their deaths really had been true, and she'd almost let one kill again.

She shakily stood, wobbling terribly. The wind blew cold around her, and she noticed snow falling from the sky.

'_Snow…? This time of year, so close to the sea?'_

She shivered, and combined with her shaking, she nearly couldn't stand.

'_Gotta get to the bridge…'_

She staggered along, realizing the siren had again tapped into chakra use for that song. She was exhausted, sick, cold, sweating… And she didn't care.

She panted, lifting her head up.

Because Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi…

They were all alive… And Sasuke… wouldn't want her to show weakness in such a moment.

She gritted her teeth and straightened up, walking more normally towards the bridge, climbing the last few stretches of hill within the grassy brush.

She scrambled over the top and looked on. Inari had gathered the entire village to fight off the men. Naruto and Kakashi stood over two dead figures, with a smaller one laying beheaded closer to her…

She stumbled over to it, noting the business suit.

'_Gato…? The evil man trying to kill Tazuna…?'_

As she raised her gaze up, she looked closer at the other two dead figures, and the source of most of the bloody stench, and saw that they were none other than Zabuza and Haku. Haku had a massive hole in his chest, and Zabuza laid with twenty… possibly thirty blades sticking out of him right next to his comrade.

Naruto looked over them with sorrow, and Tori was relieved to see he had almost no blood on him. She forced her eyes to remain away from where the corner of her vision spied Sakura kneeling over another form… unmoving.

Kakashi glanced up at her, and his voice didn't hold nearly the warmth she'd been hoping for.

"Well well… look what the river washed up."

Like a knife in her already bleeding heart, his tone cut through her. She winced… He knew.

Naruto looked up.

"TORI!" He raced forward and latched onto her. The shock on Tori's face was probably only matched by Kakashi's… but in that moment, she couldn't show it. She remained still as the boy hugged her.

"Uh… yeah… ow… nice to see… you too, Naruto…" He'd never embraced anyone before, not that she'd seen. There were probably numerous hugs when he'd been attached to Sakura, but of course, she wasn't Sakura.

She would've been overjoyed, just knowing… most of them… were ok. But she knew… Everything wasn't all right. Sasuke was dead, Kakashi wasn't happy… and she deserved whatever he was going to give her.

Tazuna stood over where Sakura knelt. The girl was looking out at the water, apparently focusing on it. Tori didn't want to walk over, but her feet compelled her forwards… anything she could do to console her friend, she had to try.

Her surprise was all too great when Sakura looked up, spying her and brightening up as she rose to her feet.

"Tori! You're ok too!" She raced over to give Tori a hug. Tazuna followed her. Tori looked past her. Sakura was unnaturally happy despite the fact that the love of her life had just died…

She pushed past Sakura suddenly, moving over to the still form on the ground. Could it be…?

She stepped up beside it, dropping to her knees. He wasn't moving… His skin was paler than usual. Her heart throbbed painfully as her head dropped, the tears slowly resurfacing.

"Tears… look… pretty awful… on you… Cut it… out…"

Two cool fingertips rested on her forehead just below her headband. Tori's eyes snapped open as she looked upon Sasuke's face, weakly smirking from the ground.

Tori couldn't speak. Everything in her almost threw herself onto him in relief.

_'Heh… I'd certainly welcome it from you. Sakura did it quite… painfully…'_

She bowed her head, shaking as a few tears spilled over, her knuckles tightening into fists, _'P… perv_…'

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, coming over to them, "Tori… you look… like a ghost."

Tori realized the color probably drained even further out of her face at that statement as she snapped her head up, shaking the tears back hurriedly.

"Ah… yeah… not feeling so hot, getting smacked off a hundred-foot bridge by a Zabuza clone…" She smiled weakly.

"What? I didn't even know you were here!" Sakura looked her up and down.

"Yeah, I came in with Naruto, I was trying to help him and Sasuke out of that ice prison when the clone jumped me."

"And Tori fought him valiantly!" Naruto whooped from behind Sakura, throwing a fist in the air. Kakashi walked up.

"Uhm… it's ok, Naruto… it was just a clone, after all… you don't have to make me feel like it was an accomplishment or anything…"

"No no, he's right, Tori," Kakashi chimed in, "I could sense Zabuza wasn't entirely focusing on me. He was both divided by trying to pay attention to Haku's fight and keeping that clone up to fight you. In the end, it cost him dearly."

Tori looked over to him. Though she'd suspected it, it meant a lot to hear someone else say it, too.

"Thank you… Naruto… Kakashi-sensei…"

"And you saved those wretched brutes from drowning, to boot!" Kakashi added, the chirpiness in his voice just a _hair_ too chirpy.

"Eh…"

Naruto looked at her. "Is that true, Tori?"

Tori's expression grew dark, wondering if they were judging her for letting those men live, even though it would've been her fault they died.

"Yeah, it's true…" She said her own words as though to reinforce them for herself, "No one deserves to die."

Sasuke fixed her with a look.

Naruto's face softened. He hadn't killed Haku like the fox intended… he knew exactly what she meant. Even though Haku had supposedly killed Sasuke…

Kakashi sighed.

Sakura knelt down beside Tori, "How're you feeling, Sasuke?"

"No better than… when… you asked… two minutes ago… Sakura…"

Inari ran up to them as the villagers dispersed, cheering that their village was safe from Gato, confirming Tori's suspicions about the suited body.

"You guys were awesome!" he cried.

"No Inari, it was YOU who was awesome! Look at how many people you brought out here!" cheered Naruto, running over to greet the kid, "Only a hero could've done something like that!"

Inari smiled widely, pleased with the compliment.

Tori smiled, "He's sure good with kids…" Sakura nodded, watching the two chat it up.

"I still wanna know what that was…" Sakura said, her gaze returning to the water, "It was… creepy… so creepy… and the men…"

Tori didn't wanna hear it. Sasuke's eyes bored into her. She deliberately looked over at Sakura instead.

"Eh? All I know is we're all safe and the bridge can go on getting built, right?" she called out to Tazuna, who had gone over to hug his grandson.

"Right you are, girl!" he called back.

Kakashi looked behind him at Haku and Zabuza.

"Those two… deserve a proper burial." He turned back to them and shifted his headband back over his eyes, covering the Sharingan. As he did, Tori took quick note of it. Red… she'd never really seen it before; Kakashi had his back to her most of the time he'd had it out prior.

It was unnervingly familiar, too.

Tori hefted Haku onto her back as Kakashi and Naruto carried Zabuza, Sakura supporting Sasuke, much to the girl's delight. Along the way, Naruto and Kakashi filled Tori in on what had happened while she was in the water. She inwardly breathed a huge sigh of relief when she realized Naruto hadn't really recognized her or the ligress; his rage had blinded him to only Haku, it seemed. She remembered the first time the ligress came out… it had been quite similar for her. Now, unfortunately, she was staying conscious during those times, watching everything she did.

They buried the bodies in a peaceful spot near the lake where they'd first fought, at the base of a tree. Tazuna quickly crafted two grave markers out of some spare planks he'd had at the bridge site. Kakashi buried Zabuza's sword at the head of his grave, and Naruto laid Haku's white scarf over the boy's grave marker.

"There… they have been laid to rest… Come on, all of you, we can pay our respects properly when we've had some rest ourselves," Kakashi ordered.

"Let's make them some flower ornaments, ok Tori?" Sakura asked, looking at her friend as they turned to leave. Naruto had hefted Sasuke onto his shoulders, not wanting Sakura to have to carry him the whole way back, not that she'd have minded touching the boy that whole time, Tori knew.

"Yeah, I'd enjoy that." After hearing the story, she felt nothing but remorse for the death of those two. She wanted to pay her respects however she could.

"Tsunami can make them an offering," Tazuna spoke, "After all, it was Zabuza who cut the head off that snake Gato… literally…"

Everyone was quiet during the walk home. At the house, Kakashi directed everyone inside, but snatched Tori's collar before she could walk in.

"…Except you." His voice was cold.

Tori began shaking again as Kakashi led her out to the clearing with the marked-up trees. She looked pitifully up at her progress, barely making it halfway when the others had reached the top… Even Naruto…

"Look at me." She complied, meeting her sensei's hard glare, "I don't even think I need to ask what happened back there."

Tori hung her head, "…I have no excuse, sensei. I wanted to help; I asked her for help… she helped in the worst way possible… All those men…"

She gripped her stomach, sick again… "She told me they all deserved to die for their actions in life…"

"She told you?"

"The… mermaid… She spoke to me when I asked her to help."

"Did you not think we would be caught up in it? Sakura wasn't affected at all, but the rest of us… None of us actually went for it, only really Gato's men… and that… is something I never want to see again. Those men were happily just jumping off that bridge! They were happy to die! Do you have any idea how sick and twisted…"

Tori fell to her knees, hugging herself as her body tried to vomit again.

"Please… sensei… I know…"

"But obviously… they didn't die. We heard them all come up for air in the end, and you even pulled some of them to shore. Why was that?"

"The mermaid… told me… that people strong and pure of heart and mind wouldn't succumb to the song… but as she was telling me all the reasons those men should die, raping, pillaging, murdering… I stopped her."

"So you did stop her. That would definitely explain it…"

"I told her… no one deserves to die. And I came up to cancel the power."

"I know that part… you came clean out of the water." Kakashi sighed, "I think I was the only one who saw you, but now even I can't be sure. And Tori… you've already heard what I think about that thing… and now I'm going to have to make it an order. You are NOT to use her again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sensei…" Tori said, willfully. She never wanted to see that creature again after what it had done.

"You really do feel it…" Kakashi seemed to take note of her tone.

"I was so horrified…" Tori began shaking again, "I saw their faces, underwater, their bodies screaming for air but their faces looking so peaceful… as they choked…"

She hunched over, trying so hard not to cry.

After a long moment, Kakashi knelt down, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"You never meant them any harm…" he said.

"I asked her… why couldn't she have just washed them off the bridge with a tidal wave… why did she have to… to…"

"It's ok…" Kakashi said, shaking her shoulder a bit, "We've all had it rough today. Hell, Sasuke died and came back all in one go. Naruto had the fox emerge, you had the ligress emerge…"

Tori finally picked her face up after a while, managing to speak, "Ah… you felt that too, huh? And… I know it probably isn't my place but… Naruto… has a spirit too?"

Kakashi sighed, "You are, as of this moment, to swear to me you will never repeat what you saw and heard today about that fox."

"I swear, sensei," Her eyes were wider, curious to hear about someone else like her.

Kakashi knelt down to her level, and lowered his voice, "The nine-tailed fox, as you've learned in school, tried to destroy Konoha twelve years ago. No one knows how it got free, as its Jinchuriki was… well… should've been able to handle it. The seal came undone somehow, though… and our fourth Hokage sacrificed himself to redo the seal… sealing it inside an infant boy instead of its previous vessel."

"Naruto…" Tori looked at the ground.

"Yes… Naruto was that infant. The cognitive members of the village who remember that incident were sworn never to tell Naruto what was inside him. People feared him, knowing what was there but unable to say it. They told their children stories to keep them away from him, lest the seal come undone when their child happened to be nearby… it's a natural reaction, but it cost Naruto his childhood."

Tori immediately thought of Sakura, and the first time she'd ever seen Naruto, _'The Village Idiot, my mom calls him… She says don't even think about getting mixed up with him…'_

She wondered if the Harunos knew about the ligress... and if so, why would they take her in?

"Anyways, that's the story… and that's why you can't mention this… to anyone." He fixed her with a hard look, "Especially not Sasuke."

"Why not Sasuke especially?"

"He's the one you'd be most likely to tell, I gather. You and Sakura don't really talk much."

"I swore, sensei, I won't tell anyone." Though she worried terribly now… if Sasuke could get in her head, he might be able to see that. She now wished Kakashi had never told her. She tried to change the subject, hoping by the time Sasuke recovered the memory would be buried too deep for him to see it.  
"You say you could feel my ligress? I wonder if anyone else could besides you, Haku, and Zabuza…"

"It was unmistakable. I already knew the nine-tailed fox, but the other power, the cat, was just as distinguishable. I'm honestly surprised with how you're able to cope with her. The fox is sealed inside Naruto with that powerful jutsu... jutsu which now, after 12 years, is weakening. I'm certain if that cat had a mind to she could easily take you over without such a barrier holding her back... which also deeply concerns me."

Tori frowned, "The ligress isn't a mindless killer... I know her... she's... difficult, sometimes... but she's also really... one of the only friends I have. There's good in her, or else... like you said, she might've tried to destroy Konoha already."

"Very true, in fact..." Kakashi eyed her, "I wonder if... she's this passive _because_ she wasn't sealed away like the others. Maybe that's where their rage stems from..."

Tori looked up. She didn't know anything about this rage of the other beasts he spoke of, but it made sense.

"…But I also worry she's lying in wait. You may not think so, having been around her for years, but it's always best to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. She also responded to the fox… I find that very odd."

"I think that was also partly my… um… shock… at what happened…"

Kakashi seemed to smirk a bit, "Shock… that's your word for it…"

"What?"

"Nothing… If someone I'd been romantically involved with died, I'm sure I'd only be 'shocked' too…"

Tori flushed red. She'd forgotten Kakashi knew about her and Sasuke.

"Anyways..." he chuckled softly, "You and Naruto are quite lucky Haku and Zabuza died, as awful as that sounds… It wouldn't do for people outside the village to know you two were Jinchuriki. Tazuna heard the roars, but he has no idea what they really were. The tailed beasts have been a closely guarded secret among the hidden villages for generations."

"Not that a couple of missing-nin would tell anybody anything anyways…"

"Never a good thing to bank on," said Kakashi, "For the right price, Zabuza would've spoken up. It's how he chose to run his life."

"You're right… but I don't want to have any reason to be happy that they're dead…"

"Then don't be." Kakashi straightened up, "Sakura was right, you're pale as… um… I won't finish that…" he quickly noted as Tori looked sick all over again. He picked the girl up by her collar. "Can you stand?"

She nodded. "Hey," Kakashi looked straight at her, "Your intentions were pure… what you need is-"

"I need to be stronger!" Tori said angrily, "Then I won't need help from these stupid spirits."

Kakashi smiled, "Took the words right out of my mouth."

Back at the house, Sakura sat fussing over Sasuke at the table as Tori and Kakashi walked in.

"I told you… don't touch them," he was growling at her.

"Are you sure? They look like they hurt a lot…" Sakura looked worried, eying the needles in his neck.

"Kakashi-sensei… can you come… pull these things out?" Sasuke called with great effort, clearly ready to be rid of the girl.

Kakashi came over and helped Sasuke up, "I'll do it in your room, don't need to be forcing these poor people to witness something like that. Tsunami, can I get a first aid kit upstairs when you have a moment?"

"Sure thing, Kakashi!" she called.

Tori looked at her damp clothes. Twice in one day, lovely event it was, getting thrown in the water. Of course, every time she was in, her wounds healed, so there was something to be said for that.

She felt the material in the back gingerly, Sakura taking notice.

"Something wrong, Tori?"

"Ah… yeah, my jumpsuit got cut up earlier. I'm gonna have to stitch it up."

Sakura stood and came over, looking at it, "Oh no, you can't stitch that up. The cut is jagged and the material's all wrong for sewing, too elastic."

"What? Then what can I do with this? I don't exactly have jumpsuits lying around."

"Here, go take a shower and change and bring it to me, Tsunami and I will figure out what to do with it once we wash it."

"Ah… ok… thank you Sakura…" Tori smiled. Her sewing skills were terrible anyways; she'd have probably made a mess of it trying to fix it.

"Hehe, no problem."

Tori showered and changed into her pajama pants and t-shirt and brought Sakura her outfit, which the girl set to work on, shooing her away.

"If we wind up having to alter it, I want it to be a surprise," she giggled.

"Alter it? Wait, _what_?"

"No peeking!" Sakura skipped off into the other room to work on it as Tsunami came down from Sasuke's room.

"How's he doing?" Tori asked her, trying not to sound too concerned.

"They're making progress. He'll be fine since Kakashi's on the job, I'm sure of it," Tsunami said.

Tori nodded, looking down. Kakashi would know better than anyone how to pull those things out. Hadn't he once been on the Anbu squad? Tori squirmed a bit, remembering the necklace of spikes adorning Sasuke's neck. If any of those were removed in even the slightest wrong way, it could mean instant death for him… again… or even lifelong paralysis… or…

She stopped herself. He'd be fine.

_'I really shouldn't be so worried… not like he's actually my boyfriend…'_

She sighed and stood up, heading for her room. Still…

Later that night, Tori tossed and turned, unable to go to sleep. Multitudes of events that day kept running through her head nonstop: Sasuke… the fight… the mermaid… especially the mermaid. Who did that fish think she was, taking over her head like that?

'_Spirit or not, you jerks live here! It's **my** head!'_ she mentally yelled at no one in particular. The ligress was curled up, asleep, definitely not paying attention. The mermaid was off in a dark corner, clearly brooding.

Now that Tori knew the spirit could talk, it was definitely time for a moment.

'_You and I need to friggin talk, fish. My sensei's gone and banned you from ever coming out because you tried to kill those people!'_

The siren glared, _'It's what I do, are you saying I need to stop doing what I was born to do?'_

'_Yes, I am! Because what you do is kill! I am not a killer! I am not allowed to kill unless ordered to! And even then, I probably won't kill!'_

'_Then you're terrible at your profession, girl. From what I've seen you're bred, raised, taught, and paid to kill, at least when you get older. If you don't learn to kill now, what's going to happen when you're in a situation where it's kill or be killed?'_

'_I'll find a way around it. There's always a way.'_

'_Not for me. The song is a being all in itself. Like power, it needs to be released when pent up for too long.' _

'_Then why not change it? Why do you fish need to kill people? Do you eat us?'_

'_Heavens, no.'_

'_Then how does that even evolutionarily make sense? Why would you be born to kill something you don't even eat?'_

'_Possibly similar to what you call a virus, from your memories here: population control, nothing more.'_

'_The ones you kill are some of the hardest workers, the ones that deserve to live the most! Those sailors keep people alive by fishing and selling their catches!'_

'_Unless they're pirates. I actually only prefer killing those.'_

'_You shouldn't kill at all!'_

'_I have this thing, what do you expect me to do with it? Sing songs of pretty rainbows and sunshine?'_

'_Get control of it! Change it! Do something with it other than kill!'_

'_Like what? Make them happy? That's ridiculous.'_

Tori thought about that for a second, and it dawned on her.

'_That's exactly it! Disarm them, make them feel at peace, lose the bloodlust or the need to fight and kill. Put them to sleep! That would be perfect for my needs! And I could actually let you out once in a while if that was all you were going to do.'_

The mermaid glowered angrily, _'That's not what I do.'_

'_You picked the wrong damn host to be deciding what **you're** going to do. Unless you wanna get your damn necklace off me somehow, which I would prefer, personally, then you gotta follow my rules, or sit and suffer. Your choice, but I won't let you out ever again so long as you're still determined to kill. We've already seen who has more control here.'_

'_Yes, that cat **is** quite strong. So is that boyfriend of yours.'_

Tori flared up, _'The ligress doesn't count! She's a hell of a lot stronger than you! And so is Sasuke! And he's NOT MY BOYFRIEND!'_

'_And if he controls the feline, well… guess that makes him the top of **this** food chain.'_

'_Shut up! You're still at the bottom, murderer, and until you start abiding by what I said, you're gonna stay there or get out!'_

She snapped her eyes open angrily, stuffing the mermaid's spirit way into the back of her mind, where it wouldn't remain an issue.

Suddenly, the chain on the necklace grew hot… very hot.

Tori yelped and darted out of bed and into the bathroom to turn on a cold bath to dunk her neck in, holding the chain off her neck gingerly. Changing positions to keep her fingers from burning, something caught her nails… a clasp.

She froze. She undid it quickly and dropped the necklace into the tub, feeling weaker than before as it slipped off her skin.

All the power was stored in the gem, she knew, but the mermaid had been tapping her personal chakra, why? When separated, they felt weaker… had the mermaid been trying to mix them or something?

She didn't know. Her chakra would come back with some rest, and now with that stupid fish out of the picture, she could rest easier. She eyed the jewelry. That thing was a parasite, and she was very glad it'd made the choice to just get off of her.

But… in the hands of someone who enjoyed killing… it could be very deadly. She left it in the empty tub, closing the drain to keep it from going down there. Kakashi would know how to dispose of it properly, or lock it up where no one could touch it.

She sighed and went back to the bed, feeling the urge to go back to sleep, but… She wanted to see him.

Oh god, why did she want to see him? She gritted her teeth. It could wait till the damn morning; the guy had almost died today. Plus, he was probably asleep. Didn't Zabuza need to rest after Haku had faked his death with those needles in almost the same manner?

More importantly, why did she want to see him?

'_I have to know he's ok…'_

Fuck, the inner voice had spoken. Maybe just a quick little trip to peek in on him, make sure he was still breathing…

No, she stopped herself. _'Morning, you can see him in the friggin morning… now quit your bitching and go to sleep!'_

Determined, she flopped into the blankets.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Tori groaned inwardly as it began to get light outside. She hadn't slept a wink.

As usual, Naruto could be heard opening and closing his door, heading down the stairs to train more.

_'You know, that's probably why he's making progress and you're not...'_ she told herself. She had to get up, but... her chakra... and no sleep...

She stuffed her face into the pillow. Sakura would probably be along to wake her up if she didn't get up. Besides, how many nights had she regularly gone without sleep from trying to train in the middle of the night?

Of course, her training had been in taijutsu... now that Kakashi was teaching them what to work on, she needed to train that now if she wanted to have any hope of being good at ninjutsu.

And of course... she hadn't normally gone through what she did the day before... ugh...

She got up, realizing her jumpsuit was still in Sakura's hands. Crap... she didn't wanna go down in her pajamas in front of all the guys. Sasuke had seen them, but he probably wouldn't even be down at all in his state...

She knew it'd be nice of her to bring him breakfast but... good God, Sakura would kill her.

Then... what could she do?

She looked out the window at the ocean... the ocean! She grabbed her bag, yanking her swimsuit out. They'd been at the ocean this whole time and she hadn't gone swimming yet!

Happily, she threw her pajamas off and donned the suit, grabbing a towel out of the bathroom, all exhaustion forgotten. When was the last time she'd been to the beach?

She went downstairs, the light outside getting stronger with each passing minute. She gingerly opened the front door they helped Tsunami repair while waiting on Tazuna to build her a new one, not wanting it to fall apart, and stepped outside.

The sunrise was breathtaking, clouds on the horizon making small gaps for sunbeams to shine through. Tori smiled happily, walking over to where the dock ended on a beach.

She set her towel down on a rock at the top of the sandy stretch and undid her ponytail, letting her hair fall out. She looked carefully out at the water, clear as it was, she worried some nocturnal critters still might be lurking. Sharks in particular were fond of docks at nighttime, as fish schools would hide there for shelter, attracting all manner of not-so-pleasant beasties.

She decided to wait on the beach for the sun to come out more, tucking her knees up to her chest and resting her head, dozing to the sound of the waves.

In her dozing, she dreamed of the sea, darting along through it as the mermaid, wild, free, and happy. Her voice was loose, resounding through the waves however it pleased, beautiful, haunting, powerful.

She heard something fall into the water next to her though, and she stopped, swimming back to see what could've dropped in so far from shore...

A guy...

She froze, almost not wanting to approach him, but the mermaid egged her on, eager to see. She moved forward, grabbing the guy's shoulders and turning him around, screaming as she recognized the face.

Sasuke looked back at her, already dead and sinking away into the depths, his eyes wide, open... and red. The Sharingan had appeared in both of his eyes, and they began spinning, grabbing her in before she could look away.

_'So you wanted to kill me...'_ his voice shot through her mind, angry, painful, generating a massive headache immediately.

"No! I could never want this! You don't understand!" she pleaded with his lifeless form, holding her head as it began to throb. She grabbed him to stop him from sinking, "Please! Don't die! I never wanted you to die!"

_'You despised me... who else could want me dead but you? So you could be free to live your life with your friends...'_

"No! That's not it! I want to see them again, but not at the cost of your life!"

_'I never meant anything to you, don't try to fool me.'_

"I can't... I can't fool you! You always know... always! You know now, you can see it all in my head, my pain, my sorrow!"

_'Then kiss me... bring me back... prove it...'_

Without any further comment or thought, she pulled him to her, kissing his cold, dead lips...

"TORI! WAKE UP, GOD DAMMIT!" Sakura screeched in her ear.

Tori yelped and flew backwards, shaking and sweaty, sand flying everywhere. Sakura had jumped back, looking pale.

"Crap, are you actually awake this time?" she asked, sounding irritated.

"What the... holy..." Tori breathed. A dream... of course... Sasuke was alive... maybe...

"You were talking in your sleep!"

Tori went pale, too.

"Say what?"

"Yelling at someone you didn't want them to die and you couldn't fool them. I couldn't wake you even by hitting you in the head!"

That explained her headache.

"Sorry Sakura... fuck... I, ah... I didn't sleep at all last night..."

Sakura exhaled, "I can tell, you were worse than you've ever been at home to wake up."

Tori giggled nervously, "Yeah... I wanted to wait for the sun to come up more before going for a swim, guess I actually fell asleep when I really just tried to doze."

"I saw you out here in your bathing suit, I thought you were crying 'cause of how your head was in your arms, scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry..."

They sat for a moment, Sakura looking up at her, "Who were you talking to anyways, if you can even remember it?"

"I... ah... I can't remember..." said Tori. Sakura's expression seemed to darken a bit, "Well... wait... I was... at home... I think... I was saying that to my... brother..."

She knew from that face, Sakura needed to know she wasn't dreaming about Sasuke. Hell, he was the only one who'd died recently... sort of...

Sakura's expression changed, "Do you... remember your family?"

Tori looked at her quizzically. Possibly because her parents told her not to ask, Sakura had never inquired about Tori's old family.

"Um... well... not much... just their deaths, really..."

Sakura seemed to grimace a bit, "That's awful... not being able to remember anything about your family besides the worst thing that ever happened..."

Tori smiled a little, "I managed... I was taken away after that, and lived in a city with a friend for a few years before I was brought here." She kept it vague, no need to explain Spirit World and demons if Sakura didn't know about them anyways.

Sakura sighed, and looked up, "Well... I was gonna say come in for breakfast, but if you want your swim you should probably get it in before eating..."

Tori stood up and grabbed her towel, "I'll come back, I can wait and swim after I eat."

"Thirty minutes! Don't forget!" Sakura said, standing up to follow her back to the house.

"I won't!" Tori laughed. Sakura would make a great mom someday, this she knew.

((**DISCLAIMER:** Just because I feel the need to add this. In case anyone here has read Lost Voices by Sarah Porter, the siren scene was inspired by the descriptions in that book. I thought her way of describing it was perfect and I used it here, so giving credit where credit is due! Thank you for that book series Ms. Porter! I thought it was amazing!))


	19. Secrets Unveiled

**A/N: Since I didn't put it in my previous chapters… hi guys! 3 years since my last update and I've got 4 new chapters to put out already… Special thanks to Dawnella, for being there and reviewing almost every single chapter since #1 :3 Thank you all for reading for those who are just the readers-not-reviewers! I have Chapters 19 and 20 written, so you'll see those soon as I go over them a few more times to make sure the story's still flowing ok.**

Also! I changed Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 7. I took out Tori having shapeshifting altogether. It was silly, pointless, and I wasn't going to use it anywhere else in the story so I removed it entirely. You guys may or may not like what I put there in its place. Thanks again to all my readers, here's to 2012 and my three-years-out-of-practice writing skills! :D

**SUMMARY:** Tori and Sasuke have a lovely talk… and we all know how those normally go…

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 19: Secrets Unveiled**

After breakfast, Sakura told Tori to stay at the table while we went to get something. After a few minutes, she came back, a black folded garment in her hands. She put it in Tori's lap.

"Took a lot of salvaging, but we made it work!" Sakura grinned proudly.

Tori picked it up, recognizing her jumpsuit… but now there were two pieces. She held up the top. It was the same, but the fabric had been cut below the bust and a non-elastic strip of fabric sewn on. She looked at the pants. Where the break in her pants had been, a waistband was added.

"Wow… it looks… pretty badass!" She held the pants up happily, "Forget my swim, I'm gonna go try this on!"

She went into her room upstairs, closing the curtains and putting her bra and underwear on, slipping on the pants. She noticed Sakura had cut the legs to match, too. Looks like her other leg warmer would find some use after all… not that it was here, she'd have to wait till they got back to Konoha.

She put the top on and admired herself in the mirror. With the loose fabric, the top fit her snugly about the breasts, and below them the fabric covered a couple inches of her stomach, leaving the rest exposed. Normally, she didn't like a bare midriff, but she had to admit, hers looked pretty good, especially with this new outfit.

She darted downstairs.

"Sakura, you should totally be a fashion designer! This thing looks amazing!" she said happily, dancing around the kitchen. Sakura was beaming.

"Tsunami helped, too! She got me the fabric and elastic material for the waist!"

"Then thank you too, Miss Tsunami!"

The woman smiled at the girls from the sink, "I'm so glad you like it, Sakura worried you might not."

"I hope you guys weren't up too late working on this."

"Now Tori, don't flatter yourself," Sakura teased, "I'm happy to do you a favor, but nine times out of ten I won't lose sleep over it." She stuck her tongue out playfully.

Tori laughed, "To be honest, I'm glad for that, I'd feel too bad if you had!"

She skipped around, eager to go and train now. She ran upstairs to get her headband and gear when she stopped at the door to her room, looking down the hall.

'_Couldn't hurt to just peek, right?'_ she thought, looking down the stairs. Sakura and Tsunami were talking, hopefully she wouldn't feel the need to come check on him for a while…

She crept down the hall to the last door and listened against it carefully. No sound came out. She gingerly put her hands on the door, inching it open painfully slow.

She looked at the bed as the door opened. A lump was buried under the covers, but she couldn't tell from here if the lump was breathing or not. The other bed was messy, and empty, so she guessed Naruto and Sasuke were sharing a room. She hoped Naruto hadn't woken him this morning getting ready to go train.

She stepped in, keeping her eyes on the bed, inching the door closed again in that carefully slow manner. He was here, for sure… his scent permeated the room, though it was odd that it grew weaker the closer she got to the bed…

As usual, this didn't register in her head during a time when it'd have been useful to keep in mind.

A force hit her from behind, sending her straight into the blankets, which she realized upon impact had nothing but pillows underneath them. Then… what…

She turned her head, meeting a pair of red eyes with a strange pattern in the irises, the ones from her dream.

'_Quiet…' _Sasuke's voice whispered to her, _'No need to scream…'_

Her heart began to pound, was her dream coming to life? Sasuke didn't have Sharingan in the real world!

He'd held a kunai knife in his hand, but he rested it quietly on the nightstand, crawling after her, his eyes never leaving hers as she backed away into the headboard, unable to make a sound.

The boy smirked, planting his forearms on either side of her, and finally taking his gaze away long enough to look her up and down. Normally, this would've infuriated the girl, but today, she was willing to let a few things slide.

"Good morning… nice outfit," he said, his voice slightly croaky. Tori couldn't tell whether that was from his injuries or possibly just waking up. She blushed, still focused on the red eyes with two comma-shaped pupils orbiting around the central one.

"Your…" she finally was able to get the words out, "your eyes…"

Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, and opening them to reveal his black ones again.

"Better?" he smirked a bit.

"I… I meant… um… wh-why were you out of bed? You friggin tackled me! You need to be resting after yesterday." She noted the bandages around his neck where the needles had been, and all over his arms.

Sasuke lowered his head next to hers on the pillow, "I am resting, I have you here with me now, no need to be on the alert anymore."

"Wait what? You think I can't take care of myself?"

"Admit it; trouble has a way of finding you."

She wouldn't deny that. But still…

"I guess we both have questions, huh?" she mused.

"I know I have one or two for you… But I'll be a gentleman and let you ask first."

"I guess… I'll try to go in chronological order," Tori sighed before answering, "Yesterday… I told you I was worried you'd snuffed out on me… you said you'd tell me your suspicions but you liked the title too much, what suspicions?"

Sasuke paused before answering,

"I… don't think Haku was ever out to kill me."

Tori glanced at him in surprise, "You know, I had the same thought…"

"Then it wasn't just me. He had millions of chances to end it and take me out, but he didn't."

"Mmm, my thoughts exactly. I wonder why?"

"You have another question for the Great Sasuke Uchiha?" the guy quipped. Instead of her natural repulsed reaction, Tori remembered how she felt, seeing his body, remembering how she felt that she hadn't enjoyed his approaches and wouldn't get another chance to, ever. She relaxed a bit more, just wanting to enjoy his company.

"Heh, you're never gonna let go of that, are you?"

"It was a gift from you, one I shall cherish for all time."

Tori smiled softly, "Then yes, Oh Great One, I have… one more question…"

"Ask away."

"I don't even think this needs that many words. Your eyes…"

Expecting him to dodge her question, she was fairly surprised when he didn't.

"My eyes… yes, the Sharingan… are a gift found exclusively in members of the Uchiha bloodline… they are a genetically granted ability, and there is no other way to obtain them."

Tori realized both he and her had stiffened a bit, "You mean, Kakashi-sensei…"

"He is not an Uchiha…" Sasuke said, his tone growing more serious, "I do not know how he came to possess a Sharingan. I would like to know, but it isn't terribly urgent I know right now… so I'm not going to pester him about it. With any luck, I'll find out eventually."

Tori nodded, "What exactly… do they do? I know what Kakashi said they can do, but I want to hear it from you."

Sasuke relaxed again, seeming pleased that she wanted his input, "Put simply… they allow me to see things that cannot be seen normally. Most doujutsu do this anyways, but the Sharingan can see through any illusion, as Kakashi described when he first showed it to us, and yes, it can copy techniques."

Tori seemed to be waiting, almost not wanting to ask the next question on her mind, "That's _all_ they do? See through illusions and copy techniques?"

Sasuke's smirk widened, "You caught me…"

Tori restrained her annoyance at him dragging out the answers, "What else do they do?"

"They are also able, even at very weak and early stages of development, to create illusions and hypnotize."

Tori narrowed her eyes a bit,

"I knew it… you've had these things your whole life… and you've been using them on me since the start…" She felt her restraint slackening. Why shouldn't she be mad about this?

"Not from the very start, I didn't use them since age five until about half a year ago."

"You guys get them that early?"

"Not… most of us… I was one of the earliest occurrences of the Sharingan in our family's history…"

"Of course, the most special Uchiha of them all." Tori rolled her eyes. "But that… does explain everything… I thought I was just going crazy, I had no idea how you were able to use such powerful genjutsu when we'd barely graduated school."

Sasuke smirked, "You make great practice."

Tori's face darkened, "I'm sure I do… asshole."

She readied to add a few more comments to that one, but Sasuke kissed her, silencing her and gently pushing her back into the pillows.

_'You're surprisingly tame compared to normal today…'_

_'Don't expect it to last longer than today either, perv. I just… feel bad for you, is all… and why can I hear your voice in here anyways?'_

_'Not according to your mind here… you were quite torn up when I was "dead." And I've had full access to your mind once, slipping in and giving a comment or two in here or is quite easy now that I'm familiar with it.'_

_'Just friggin great… And stay out of there!'_

_'I can see it... your grief... even _**_she_**_ came out in response to it...'_

Tori realized he was poking into her memories from yesterday, and began to struggle, trying to focus on the memory of punching him in the face to get him out of there.

He broke off and frowned down at her, "What?"

"I... don't want you seeing that!" Tori said, clearly pissed now. She knew it was a bad idea for Kakashi to tell her. Sasuke couldn't know about Naruto, for any reason. She kept that one image up to block him out.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes a bit, but Tori closed hers, certain he'd been about to try to force his way in. He rested his forehead on hers.

"Ok, ok, fine... you win... can you at least tell me what happened while I was out?" Tori opened one eye cautiously, Sasuke didn't have his Sharingan out, but his eyes were big in a pleading sense. It was so adorable… she really couldn't look away. The bad-ass Sasuke Uchiha trying to be cute to get her to talk to him...

"You know, I think that's your best information-getting technique yet…" she grumbled, "I suppose I'll tell you what happened…"

Sasuke got comfortable while Tori told him about everything yesterday, except of course about Naruto and the mermaid. She just made it sound like she'd been knocked off the bridge and the clone couldn't find her underwater.

"Can I ask my questions now?" he asked when she was finished. Nervously, Tori nodded.

Sasuke's grip seemed to tighten on her, to her major annoyance, "So… back to your cat… since we couldn't finish that conversation a few nights ago…"

Tori flinched and squirmed, knowing now why he'd tightened his hold on her.

"Relax… I just want to know about it…"

"I don't want anyone to know about it!"

"Not even your lover?"

"You're not my lover!"

"I could change that…"

"Hell no!"

"Calm down, I was kidding," he chuckled, "Riling you up never gets old."

Tori huffed, bright red. Sasuke nibbled at her neck, quickly switching it to a bite when she tried to move away.

'_I'm not out to hurt you… would you please relax? I was enjoying it before.'_

'_I'm doing my best to tolerate this… you're not making it any easier!'_

_'Man, if this is you tolerating it, I'd hate to see you not…'_

_'That's every single day.'_

Sasuke kissed the spot he'd bitten in response, running his tongue along it. Tori knew the ligress was mostly the source behind this, but a huge wave of pleasure ran up her body at that motion. She shuddered violently at the intensity of it.

'_Oh ho… you really liked that.'_

'_No I didn't! That was the cat!'_

'_The cat's a part of you, right? Means you liked it, too.'_

'_Fine, I don't have to tell you about her, stay in the dark for all I friggin care.'_

'_Your choice. I can always get the information out of you later…'_

Tori fumed. This was why he was still the biggest pain in her ass, dead or not.

She sighed angrily, ignoring his touches and deciding she'd rather not risk him seeing Naruto's little moment in a mental invasion,

"This cat of mine… has been with me since I was seven years old. One day, I was out walking in my neighborhood, and this huge bolt of lightning came out on a clear, sunny day, striking me and knocking me out cold. When I woke up, I discovered her inside my head, infusing me with her spirit and power. As you've noticed, she passively enhances me, my strength, stamina, speed, everything. I can see better, hear better, smell better, sense better, etc."

"I saw her come out… that day at the gates…"

Tori sighed, "Yes, you did. She came out because I was upset."

"You have claws and teeth and a tail when she does."

"Mhmm…"

"And you hide her because it would frighten people to know such a powerful being was sealed inside you…"

"Not sealed…"

Sasuke looked at her, "…what?"

"She isn't sealed inside me, she just lives here. She chose me to mask her power to hide from pursuers."

"Other ninja villages who might want her power for themselves…"

Tori nodded. He was half right.

"Why… aren't you… more surprised?" she asked.

Sasuke snickered, "I've known there was something weird about you since you first came to the village, especially when you tackled me as fast as you did. It never made sense to me until I started to piece together what I'd seen."

Tori's face fell, "If you figured it out…"

"You're forgetting who you're talking to. I'm the Great Sasuke Uchiha."

Tori rolled her eyes, but found herself laughing a bit at his response. He could be fairly reassuring when he wanted to. Despite his silliness, he had a point. He was pretty damn clever, much as she'd never admit it aloud.

He looked at her squarely, his grip tightening again, "Now, for the last question I have for you…"

Tori grew nervous. Sasuke's expression was stern,

"You're fooling yourself if you don't think I heard that weird song yesterday. This one's been burning me, so you might want to tell the truth about it or risk me digging through your head for the answers. I _know_ you were involved somehow; you were in the water when it happened from what you told me. So… spill."

Tori grew very solemn, sick at the memory being brought up again. Sasuke noticed this and relaxed his grip, backing off a bit to give her some space,

"I can see this clearly bothers you… must've been pretty bad."

"If you saw what that song did, you know about half of it already…"

Sasuke nodded, "They all just… went to throw themselves off the bridge. Something in me… I was so tired and sore…"

Tori's heart began to pound,

"…Something was telling me to go too… to just… jump, and die, end this miserable life I've led until now… my family's dead, I thought… I thought I wouldn't ever get strong enough to achieve my goals… I would never be able to have a happy life… might never get you… just end it all now…"

Tori choked back tears, suddenly throwing her legs over the side of the bed and clambering to her feet, sorrow eating her from the inside out. She just wanted to go back to her room and cry.

As always, she was no match for this guy. Sasuke snatched her back before she could fully get up, pinning her down, Sharingan out and working before she could blink.

'_Calm down…'_ he whispered, _'It's ok… understand me? Everything's ok…'_

'_It was my fault…' _she admitted, close to crying, her body relaxing at his commands though her mind was still in turmoil. Images from her dream came to her, vivid and horrible, and even Sasuke seemed disturbed by what he saw, _'I was the one singing… I almost killed them… and now that you've confirmed it… I almost killed you, too…'_

Sasuke hefted her back into her spot on the pillows, laying himself on top of her.

'_No you didn't… it's ok… It's true I thought those things, but I came to my senses easily, I knew there was no way I wouldn't achieve those things in life…'_

Tori seemed to calm a bit, but the images of the dying men still plagued her.

'_How were you able to do something like that? I could hear your voice, but that wasn't you… that can't have been you.'_

_'It was… a necklace I'd found in the pond in Konoha… the necklace contained the spirit of a mermaid with powerful water and sound jutsu…'_ She knew, after thinking about it, the siren's song had to have been a jutsu to use chakra like that.

_'A mermaid?'_

_'A siren, like the ones we've heard about from sailors… who sing them to their deaths…'_

_'I knew that wasn't you.'_ Sasuke gingerly stroked her hair, not wanting to upset her, _'So much sorrow, anger, and pain… that couldn't be the kind, happy, fiery cat girl I've come to know and love…'_

_'Kakashi knew about it, I helped him power up his water jutsu against Zabuza the first time we fought him, but after the song incident… he forbade me from ever using her again.'_

_'I'd have done the same in his place… such a jutsu is powerful… so many people could get hurt by it…'_

_'I stopped her before she actually drowned them. After Kakashi talked to me I cornered her and told her to change the song and make it disarm people instead of kill them, or get her necklace off my neck. She chose the latter. Clearly, she enjoys killing too much.'_

Sasuke nodded,_ 'So where is it now?'_

_'In my tub with the drain and door closed. Soon as I find Kakashi I'm going to tell him it's off my neck and we can lock it up or something.'_

'_Sounds like a plan.'_

Tori relaxed a bit. It felt better to get such secrets off her chest… but Naruto's would have to remain there forever. She swore to Kakashi that no one else would know from her, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Sasuke…"

His eyes opened, deep and black with the Sharingan gone, looking at her, "Yeah?"

"Can you… help me get stronger?"

He seemed a bit surprised, "You're asking me for help?"

"It's obvious I suck at ninjutsu… I want to become stronger, not have to rely on… um… others… for help in every bad situation I come across… I've got taijutsu but sometimes you just need to have a larger bag of tricks to use. Martial arts won't save me every time… I just want to be as good at chakra control as you guys… the ligress messes with my own chakra constantly. Ours is melded together, and hers is so chaotic it's really hard to control…"

Sasuke's surprise increased, "That certainly explains why you have such a hard time with ninjutsu…"

"So will you help me?"

Sasuke smirked, pinning her down suddenly and messing with her hair, "It's gonna cost you…"

"Ack… what? Oh, god, why did I ask…"

"If you want my help, you have to call me sensei…"

"Fuck you!"

"Right now?"

"You disgusting piece of shit…"

"Too bad then, I guess you're still on your own," he pouted, rolling off of her.

Tori sat up, a thought striking her.

"Ah well, I guess I'll just have to go ask Naruto to be my sensei…"

She was on her back again in a heartbeat, Sasuke snarling. "Good God, possessive much?" she mused as he climbed back on top of her, knowing that was coming.

"You'd ask that idiot for help and call him sensei but not me?"

"He certainly wouldn't lord it over my head, that's for sure… Or ask me to call him that in exchange for some tips and lessons."

"It's called playing around; maybe you should lighten up a bit."

"I'm not the one tossing the girl I claim to like around like a ragdoll whenever she even mentions another guy's name."

"Well I hope you weren't planning on leaving today, 'cause thanks to that remark you're staying right here."

Tori pondered. Sasuke was injured, and it was clear she was still no match for him like this. There was always the Substitution jutsu trick, it had worked once before. Long as she could make it downstairs she'd be all right…

She made the hand signs quickly, swapping herself for Naruto's backpack near the door.

Sasuke had been on guard though, and darted between her and the door before she could move again.

"Going somewhere?"

Thinking fast, Tori ran back towards the bed, probably confusing Sasuke until she grabbed the windowsill, vaulting up and out the window onto the roof as she felt his hand swipe and miss for her ankle.

She couldn't help but laugh at her success as she ran along the roof, hearing him coming out to follow her. Without looking behind, she ran all the way to the end, launching off the edge and diving twelve feet into the water by the house.

Sakura came running out the front door, "Are you serious?! The heck are you trying to do, Tori, kill yourself? Did you just jump off the roof?"

Tori laughed, treading water, "I got my swim in! Well, a little of it."

She happily noticed Sasuke refrain from jumping in, too. He glared deeply at her and skulked back to his room, clearly not wanting to join in.

Tori sighed, paddling around in the beautiful water as Sakura continued berating her. Things were back to normal.

0o0o0o0o0o0

_**Two weeks later…**_

After paying their respects to Zabuza and Haku's graves with Tsunami's rice cake offerings and Sakura and Tori's flower necklaces on each marker, they bid their goodbyes to Inari, Tazuna, and the townsfolk, Naruto's being particularly tearful.

Tori had told Kakashi about the necklace, actually catching a look of relief on the jounin's face as he went into the bathroom and picked up the offensive trinket, stowing it in his vest and promising her it'd be locked up when they went back to Konoha.

As they walked away, Naruto started up on what he wanted to do when he got back,

"I gotta get Iruka-sensei to buy me a big bowl of ramen… OH! And I gotta tell Konohamaru about how awesome I was!"

Sakura had other ideas, sidling up to Sasuke, "Well then, Sasuke… wanna go on a date when we get back?"

Tori had to stuff her fist in her mouth to keep from laughing, and she knew the boy could sense her amusement.

"No thanks." Cold and simple, how he normally sounded.

"Hey! Hey Sakura! I'll go on one with you!" offered Naruto, shoving Sasuke out of the way and hopping between them.

"NO! SHUT UP NARUTO!"

Sasuke looked back at Tori amid the chaos, flashing his Sharingan at her. As he'd probably hoped for, her amusement died very fast, especially when he winked, turning back to the road ahead.

She gritted her teeth angrily. If Sakura wasn't here… his ass would be so drop-kicked right now…

Kakashi had his Make-Out Paradise book in his hands, happily reading as the team bickered all the way home.


	20. Time Off

**SUMMARY:** As usual, Sasuke can't help dragging Tori into chaotic interactions any chance he gets. It finally dawns on Tori that there's more to Sasuke's pursuits than meets the eye.

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 20: Time Off**

A few days later, Tori awoke snuggled warmly in her blankets, eyes still closed. Her world was at peace… it was quiet, Sakura hadn't come barging her door down yet to go meet up with the guys, it was nice and dark in her room… blissful couldn't even describe it.

She nuzzled into her pillow as she stretched, which was awfully hard underneath her face… and began to stir as she did, shifting…

Her eyes snapped open, darting around, and she screeched, launching herself out of bed.

Sasuke's room, she was in Sasuke's room!

The boy groaned, uncovering his ears after the screeching stopped and sitting up, glaring at her.

"Get back to bed, god dammit, it's way too early for you to be making a racket."

"WHY THE FUCK AM I OVER HERE?" she yelled. She looked down. She was still in her clothes, at least. "What did you fucking DO to me?"

Sasuke yawned, bored with her yelling already and flopped back down, "Not my fault you sleepwalked over here. I was pretty flattered, thought you'd finally come around…"

"That's a lie if ever I heard one! I DON'T SLEEPWALK! And my pajamas would be on even if I did!"

"You certainly wouldn't know if you do, now would you?"

"You friggin used your Sharingan again, I know you did! STOP USING ME AS GENJUTSU PRACTICE!"

"Not my fault your mental defenses are shit…"

"Then do it to Sakura! She'd enjoy it!"

"I don't want to; you're way more fun to torture. Besides, she'd be way too easy, that wouldn't be practice. I wouldn't even need genjutsu to get her to do anything for me."

"You ASSHOLE! She's your teammate! How can you talk such shit about her?"

"It's not shit if it's true, not like I insulted her…"

"You called her easy! How's that NOT an insult?"

"Tell me, does she do anything Naruto wants?"

"No."

"Then, dumbass, she's not 'generally' easy; she'd just be that way for me, just like every other girl in this fucked-up village…"

Tori plopped down on the floor, "Why… why couldn't you have picked a girl who actually liked you…?"

"You _do_ like me, you said so yourself last night. More than like, actually."

Tori sat up, horrified, "WHAT DID WE DO LAST NIGHT?"

Sasuke laughed, actually laughed. Tori stopped and stared in awe for a moment. Had Sasuke really ever done anything other than chuckle or snicker at her before? His laugh was… amazing. So… normal… but sexy, too… Tori quickly glared. Not sexy! Not sexy at all!

"I'm sorry…" he gasped, "but that was… so worth it…"

She tackled him in the blankets, "You fucking DICK! I'll beat your face in!"

He kept laughing as she tried swinging at him; he held her harmlessly away, grabbing her wrist gently and flopping her down into the blankets on her stomach, locking her arms in his and finally stopping to breathe.

"You're the only girl… who's ever made me laugh like that," he said, still chuckling as he laid his head down on her back.

Tori glared, "I'm glad I make such a good joke to you!" She kicked with her legs, trying to hit him somewhere, anywhere.

"You're not a joke to me, you moron… you make me happy." Sasuke nosed into her hair.

"I'm sure any other girl could do the same, pal!" She tried to head-butt him from the front and earned herself a bite on the neck, going slack.

"God… dammit… I hate you…" She looked up at his alarm clock. "Aw crap! We gotta go meet Kakashi-sensei!"

"Either you're really that dense that you forgot, or you're just trying to trick me into getting up."

"Forgot what?"

"Kakashi gave us the week off when we came back yesterday, and that was Sunday. He said to meet up at our spot _next_ Monday at 6am."

"You mean I gotta put up with this bullshit from you for another _week_?" Tori groaned. She could've sworn Kakashi had said the next day…

"Sure do…" Sasuke purred, "I'm gonna get a _lot_ of practice in…"

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Tori tried to form hand signs for the Substitution jutsu to swap with the cushions near the porch door, but Sasuke held her hands apart.

"Ah ah ah…" he leaned close to her ear, "Gonna have to get more creative than that."

Tori glowered, especially at her ligress, who'd gone back to sleep once Sasuke bit her.

She lay there for a long moment, pondering her options. Sasuke got comfortable on her back and proceeded to try dozing off again. She wiggled as though she wanted to turn over. Sasuke kept his hands on her wrists to hold them apart, but allowed her to flip over onto her back. She remembered the self-defense course Mr. Haruno had made her and Sakura take when they were much younger… she recognized this position…

She popped her hands up above her head, throwing the boy off balance so she could kick him over onto his back. She felt him tensing up, ready to flip her back over, and struck.

She closed her mouth over his, staying on her knees but pretending to settle the rest of herself on top of him. She felt heat rising from his face; no way, had she actually made him _blush_? She peeked; she sure had. Victory!

Her plan fell into motion when he released her wrists to gently hold her hands, kissing her back. Lightning quick, she reared back from her knees onto her feet, leaping off the bed and taking off out the door, closing it, laughing as she bolted for the front door. Now THAT had been fun.

She threw her shoes on, racing out into the yard and familiar, empty neighborhood.

"Tori…" Sasuke called behind her, apparently already on the move, "C'mon now, you know by now you can't get out of here…" he taunted, clearly trying to bait her.

Tori smirked. She'd thought of something before the Uchiha did… Victory number two!

She ran for the side wall closest to the forest. Stopping for a brief moment, adrenaline pumping at her excitement to show this guy up, she focused chakra into her feet, a much easier job without the ligress acting up and being restless, she still slumbered in the girl's head. Turning Sasuke's own dirty trick against him… she was just racking up points today.

She got a running start and bolted for the wall, nimbly running up it to the very top, thirty feet up, and crouching at the top, using her feet to hold her to the poles as she straightened up and looked down, seeing the shocked Uchiha's face amidst the houses.

"What was that, pretty boy? Can't get out of there? HA! Don't expect to find_ me _again!" she laughed. Still holding her feet to the pole, she opened her arms and fell back, the chakra sliding along the poles till she was parallel to the ground again on the other side. Turning around, she ran down the wall, hopping off about ten feet up, laughing as she bolted for the forest to train more before the cat woke up again. Yep, chakra control was _much_ easier without her causing problems…

A pair of blue eyes watched her, very curious to know why a girl was coming out of the Uchiha residence…

Tori stayed out in the forest the entire day, working on her tree climbing. She HAD to make it to the top of one of these, even with the ligress's interference. Sasuke wouldn't always be around to bite her and make the cat quiet.

But thirty feet, she'd made it thirty feet today! She swelled with pride. She may not be doing it now that the cat was back and restless as ever, but she had, and it was a goal to work towards.

She knew Sasuke would come looking for her though; he'd want revenge for her revenge… good God, which of them owed who what now?

She'd been moving between trees all day, figuring the experience on different ones was also good to adjust her to different surfaces while attempting to avoid her pursuer.

Tori glowered about their relationship yet again up in a branch as she drank a water bottle she'd snagged from the Harunos when she ran home to get her gear to train. Mrs. Haruno asked where she'd been all morning, she made the excuse jogging, thankful the woman hadn't noticed she'd been gone all night. Jogging was a great one, you could do it forever and no one would question you.

She was starting to get hungry and realized she'd skipped breakfast and lunch… if she went home for dinner, what excuse could she use to get back out of the house?

Oh, wait; there _was_ that hopping-out-the-window business.

So as the sun began to set, Tori sprinted home for some last-minute cardio, trying not to use the ligress. She was training herself only, and that cat didn't need any training anyways, it was just a bunch of chakra. It needed obedience school, if anything.

Of course, the sprinting served an additional purpose, getting her out of the quieting streets of Konoha before a certain kidnapper could swoop in on her.

She got home as Mrs. Haruno was finishing up cooking, panting and sweating. Sakura plugged her nose, sitting downstairs on the couch in her pink flower pajama pants with a pink tank-top on.

"You friggin reek! Have you been out there training all day?"

"Yeah! Never got to finish my tree in the Land of Waves, so here I am, finishing it now."

"You're still on that? You're just like Naruto, jeez. Do you have any chakra in your body at all?"

Tori glared at the girl for that last comment, "For your info, yes I do, second, we can't all be as perfect as you! Third, Naruto is actually making progress with his training, what've you been doing all day besides hunting for Sasuke's latest hang-out-and-be-emo spot?"

Sakura flared up the way she did every time Tori insulted her beloved Sasuke.

"Girls, be nice!" Mrs. Haruno called from the kitchen.

Sakura gave Tori the hair-flip and went back to watching TV, grumbling.

Tori went upstairs and showered, grabbing a new set of workout clothes and laying them on the bed, changing first into her pajamas. She kept checking her window nervously; though the curtains were closed, she wouldn't doubt Sasuke was waiting for her to go to bed.

Tori sighed angrily. She said it once; she'd say it again… fucking creeper. He never seemed to bother her when they were meeting up with Kakashi-sensei daily, but whenever they had time off he was all over her.

She wondered if she could keep this up forever… but there was no way to deter the guy! She'd asked him over and over again to go get a girl that liked him and leave her alone; she'd been a bitch to him, insulted him, even managed to slap, punch, knee, and kick him.

She mused to herself what it'd be like, seeing him with another girl. With Sakura, she'd actually be happy. But any other girl… she'd be feeling Sakura's pain.

A sickening feeling came over her. That didn't mean… could that mean she actually DID care? She shook her head. No, never, even if she got upset about it, she'd get over it while she was busy enjoying all the free time she'd have to herself if that ever happened.

They'd agreed to remain unofficial before the Land of Waves mission, but he was just getting irritating now. Still… Tori had to admit, in an obscure way, Sasuke was helping her.

She looked up. Was that… his plan all along?

She thought about it. All the time she spent trying to escape from him, fighting him, hiding from him… in general just evading him… She realized…

It was training…

All of it…

She was training to evade…

He was training to track and capture…

It all made sense now.

"Tori! Are you coming down for dinner?" Mrs. Haruno called.

"Yes ma'am! On my way!" Tori yelled back, darting down the stairs.

() () () () () ()

Tori was thankful the roof was empty when she poked her head out of it that night, carefully listening for any sounds that would give away someone nearby. She sniffed, cheating a bit as she used the ligress's nose to check for anything nearby. She didn't wanna get caught, not yet.

She slipped out quietly, closing her curtains and window behind her, stringing the tripwire right below the window. If Sasuke came to her window tonight thinking she'd be at home, he was in for a surprise.

She cackled inwardly as she tiptoed along the roof. During dinner, she'd thought of and begun training a new way to use her chakra, and she kept it up through the street, trying to practice it before she'd actually need to try it out.

She remembered back when she'd first found the mermaid's necklace that Kakashi had said her chakra was of the lightning type… she wondered how he knew that. Most young ninja didn't know their chakra types, least not around her.

She wondered if Spirit World somehow knew her type… they did seem to know everything else about her. They certainly knew everything about Yusuke; Tori vaguely remembered him getting angry when Botan relayed to him in front of his girlfriend Kayko that he had a birthmark on his left inner thigh when he'd challenged that topic himself.

If so, she supposed it made sense. Koenma had sent her here for a reason, and that reason, she understood perfectly now. She wondered how… in her home, this cat had managed to find her. The ligress was clearly of this realm, being one of the tailed beasts… Koenma was just righting the wrong and putting the ligress back where she needed to be, didn't matter that it was an ordinary human she'd chosen as her host.

At any rate, the point was, she was the lightning type. Her and the ligress's chakras should've blended perfectly then, but they didn't. The cat was often restless, wanting to let loose and zap things, but Tori constantly had to keep her buttoned up.

Tonight though, she was gonna try to change that, once she finished her tree. She was almost at the top; she knew she'd get it in another few attempts.

() () () () () ()

A few hours later saw Tori working on a new technique. If Naruto could conjure his own jutsu, then why couldn't she?

Her tree had marks going all the way to the top, she was proud to see. Now she could focus on another training method… one actually utilizing the chakra control training she'd learned.

Tori had studied up a bit on electricity behavior after the surge incident, and utilized this knowledge now in developing the jutsu.

She mentally nudged her ligress, _'Hey, kitty cat, you awake?'_

The cat seemed to glower; of course it was awake, it was nighttime.

'_Wanna help me figure out a way for you to let loose and do some damage in a not-so-devastating-I-can-never-use-you manner?'_

The ligress chuffed, but slowly rose to her feet. Tori took that as reluctant acceptance. Good, before she could even begin to make this work, she had to have the cat willing to work with her.

She'd been thinking about how she wanted this jutsu to work, and in doing so had come up with a number of neat little techniques she wanted to develop.

First, she wanted a simple forward ranged attack with her lightning. If there were many in the path, it would be able to arc to multiple targets, typical electric behavior. She wanted to call this the Chain of Death Jutsu.

Next, she wanted something for when she was flanked on all sides, an area attack involving an explosion with multiple bolts hitting targets 360 degrees around her. Since this sounded like something violently discharging, she aptly named it the Discharge Jutsu.

For something a bit trickier, she'd come up with a nifty combination of her claws and her electrical chakra, wanting to pull her claws out and surround them with lightning chakra, electrocuting the victim while they were also being slashed. Lightning Claw Jutsu sounded cool for that one, but the name might need work. She'd also need to work on accessing that feature without allowing the ligress to assume control, as the claws, fangs, and tail were normally only present when she was coming out.

Lastly, a grander project she'd save for later, she knew the ligress could make it storm, and she wanted to figure out how to utilize that on a very large scale, her being alone surrounded by a large army, a storm that would drop bolts on everything within a quarter-mile radius. That would certainly come long after she'd mastered her chakra, but when she did, it would be named the Storm Call Jutsu, and it would be a powerful tool indeed.

Thinking of her options, she set to work on the easiest one, using a fallen tree as a target while trying to use the ligress's chakra to focus a burst of electricity ahead of her. She thought of what hand signs she'd need… this attack wouldn't be too hard to figure out seals for, based on its simplicity.

She wanted to use Dragon, since like a dragon, her attack would be shooting from one point towards another, plus this seal should also give it extra power.

To give her attack more range, she wanted to use Bird next, to carry it farther.

And finally, since the attack would need to jump if there were more targets nearby, she added Rabbit.

She knew it was a very rough grasp, but given time, she was sure she could make it work. The nature of the seals emulated what she wanted to do well, and good seals would give her a head start in mastering this jutsu.

Trying the seals and focusing the ligress's chakra, Tori spent the entire night struggling to channel the chakra how she wanted. Sometimes she'd get a spark, but mostly nothing, just a surge of chakra that went nowhere. At one point, the ligress grew irritated with their lack of progress and made a small explosion to vent.

Tori had been trying to channel the chakra through her arm, but… she thought to herself, why not surround herself with the chakra first, then aim it from there? It always seemed to wind up on the surface when it wanted out, plus being surrounded by lightning would make a good intimidation technique. The detriment was certainly that it might be harder to shoot in the right direction, or it could arc somewhere she didn't want it to go if she was standing near a conduit.

She focused again, not doing hand signs while she tried to bring her chakra out from her body onto the surface.

'_Baby steps…'_ she reassured the cat as it growled. She had to learn how to use this unstable chakra before she could even hope to become a decent ninja, _'You and I need to work together on this, if your chakra keeps fighting me, I'll never make any progress.'_

The cat chuffed, watching the girl try so hard to control the power welling to the surface. Lightning arced around her bit by bit as she slowly wrestled the chakra out. Trying to keep it on the surface and balanced proved difficult, as it would arc or lapse back into her, only to have to be pulled out again.

Tori finally plopped down, exhausted with trying to work the chakra, but satisfied. She'd taken baby steps. She'd have to come out and try again tomorrow night. She stood up, leaping about four feet in the air when a voice came from the trees:

"Ready to go home?"

She whirled around, Sasuke's Sharingan glowing from the shadows at her.

"How long have you been there?" she asked, taking a step back.

"Long enough. You two getting along? I see you're practicing ninjutsu."

"We've always gotten along… sort of… but we're working together now!"

Sasuke smirked, "Good to hear… for you. Not so good for anyone opposing you."

Glancing at his Sharingan, Tori remembered the trick she'd wanted to try out. She took a second to focus her chakra again, easier for this purpose now since she'd been wrestling with a much larger amount the entire night.

Sasuke watched her curiously, "Gonna try out your new technique on me?"

"No way, it's not even a technique yet," she grinned, "I just wanna show you that I'm onto you now."

Like that, she flung a couple of kunai knives where he was standing, forcing him to jump back.

Now for some physical training.

She took off as soon as the knives had left her hands, knowing those few feet might help her get away.

Channeling her chakra into her feet, she left the ground as quickly as possible, using it to climb a tree trunk and hop along the lower branches, sticking her feet to each one before pushing off.

She changed direction erratically, not wanting to be predictable. The ligress tried to push to the surface to boost her speed, but Tori wrestled her down.

'_If I can't do this on my own, then I don't deserve your help.'_

Chuffing, the cat went and laid back down.

Tori continued on, climbing a little higher in the trees. It was a longer jump between, and she almost missed a few branches, but she hoped it was better for covering her trail.

Where to go… Somewhere he'd never think to look…

She grinned evilly as a location popped into her mind. No way he'd ever look there.

She knew he'd catch her eventually, but taking baby steps, she wanted to be able to keep away from him longer and longer each time until she reached the point where he couldn't catch her.

She stopped near the edge of the forest, listening. She tried Kakashi's method of sensing chakra, but it was so vague that she couldn't pinpoint a person if she tried. She tried to keep her breathing low, but she was exhausted from running that long and using her chakra at the same time.

Using what she had left, she ran to the top of the tree, using a small branch that still looked stable enough to hold her. As she was running along it, she realized she'd misjudged it when the branch snapped and she fell.

'_Shit…!'_ She reached out to catch another, her hand slipping off it easily as she continued falling. The ligress jumped into action, tensing up her hands and releasing the claws, tail, and fangs. The claws dug into a thicker branch farther down, finally stopping the girl's fall.

She hung from it a moment, trying to calm her shot nerves. The fear when she'd begun falling had made her lose all sense of chakra control, or else she'd have just tried to stick to a branch on the way down.

'_Ok ok… I'm glad you had my back on that one…'_ she admitted inwardly. The ligress purred in satisfaction as she kick-flipped Tori's body up onto the branch she'd grabbed, balancing with her tail.

Tori glanced around again as she tried to regain composure enough to use her chakra to get down from the tree. There was no way Sasuke had been that far behind.

Suspicious, she tried sensing chakra again. Again, she felt chakra all around. Everything had it, but she was hoping a person would have enough that it'd be easy to pick out.

Abandoning that, she looked around, letting the cat's nose try to help her, but she was upwind to the trees. Any scents were being blown away.

Grumbling, she continued on with her plan, channeling chakra into her feet and running along this thicker branch, launching off of it towards the wall that surrounded none other than the Uchiha complex.

The idea had been to stay off the ground, but she knew if anyone examined the trees, they might find those claw marks, and now that Sasuke knew about the ligress, it'd be a dead giveaway…

If he even thought to look here…

If she'd even been able to lose him in the first place…

So many ifs…

She landed on the wall about five feet off the ground, sticking to it and wobbling a bit. She used her core to straighten herself up, parallel to the ground again, and ran up the wall, quickly skimming over the top and running down into the neighborhood.

She stopped at the bottom to catch her breath, trying to listen. As usual, dead silence.

She moved quickly through the buildings, trying not to run so that her feet wouldn't scrape the ground noisily.

She stopped near Sasuke's house, and realized she didn't have a key.

'_Aw fuck… forgot about that…'_

The other houses were a no-no, not after the last time.

Well, there went her genius plan out the window.

She leaned against a wall, resting for a moment with her eyes closed. She really was pretty tired. Her chakra had gotten a crazy workout, what with the training before, followed by the pursuit.

A soft _whoosh_ and _tap_ reached her ears. She froze. That was him, it had to be him. She quickly readied her new trick, opening her eyes.

Right across the narrow alleyway, Sasuke was smirking at her.

"Need a key?"

Her heart sank.

"Dammit, I was sure you wouldn't check here…"

"Aww, poor girl. Hoped you could outsmart me."

She really had.

"How long were you following me?"

"Almost the entire time."

"WHAT? Why didn't you just catch me?"

"I was curious to see where you'd go."

"Dammit! I want a progress marker! It's not a progress marker if you're just hanging back!"

"You need to get better at covering your tracks and knowing when you're being followed."

"No shit! What do you think I was trying to do that whole time? I didn't know if I was even succeeding or not."

"Here's a word of advice: the reason most ninja travel through the low branches of trees is because the higher you go, the more the tree shakes when you jump onto it. I could've been at the other side of the forest and still seen where you were going."

Tori's face fell, so much for that idea.

"But hey…" Sasuke walked forward, his smirk melting into a smile, "You're learning. That's more than I can say for most."

Tori smiled at him softly, "Yeah… I figured out earlier tonight why we're playing this cat-and-mouse game, too…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Took you long enough."

"You're probably not getting much training out of me right now… but I'll get better! You'll see!"

"I wouldn't say that little… at least I'm getting to use my skills tailing you. On our missions here I hardly get to use them at all."

"Why couldn't I find you when trying to sense chakra?"

"You don't know how to mask your chakra levels? That explains why anytime I need to find you I just sense chakra and you're one of the brightest spots on the radar…"

"I have a lot to hide!"

"So do I, moron."

"I have more than you! Just help me figure out how to do it!"

"…Sensei?"

"On second thought, I'll ask Kakashi!" Tori turned and began walking away; forgetting briefly that it's never that easy.

Sasuke was in front of her again, Sharingan out. Tori narrowed her eyes.

'_Time to test this out…'_

She didn't want to be exposed too much, but hopefully her little trick would protect her from the brief moments of accidental eye contact.

She turned and ran the other way, towards his house. He followed, not closing the distance until she was starting to pass it.

He flanked her on the left side, snagging her around the waist and lifting her up off the ground, carrying her towards the door as he pulled his keys out.

"Aren't you tired yet? We need to go to bed," he said, yawning as he unlocked the door.

"Hell no! I'll do this all night!" Tori snapped, squirming.

"I have a better idea of something we can do all night…"

"FUCK YOU!" Tori's face flamed red.

"Read my mind, you did."

"YOU SICK, DISGUSTING-"

"Funny how I've even _told_ you I only say those things to rile you up and yet it still works…"

Inside, Sasuke locked the door behind them, finally setting Tori on her feet long enough to whirl her around, shoving her back into a wall, pinning her hands down, Sharingan spinning rapidly.

The brief eye contact dazed her, but she felt Sasuke bounce off the wall of chakra she'd been constructing around her mind all night since dinnertime.

She was able to close her eyes and block him out, smirking victoriously.

"What's the matter? Couldn't get me to be your little mind puppet again?"

"You… have improved…" Sasuke actually sounded impressed.

Tori wouldn't admit it out loud, but the compliment deeply touched her.

"NOW whose mental defenses are shit?"

"Yours, still. That's definitely a deterrent for quick, sneaky attempts at genjutsu, but if the eyes are held open to sustain contact, I'm sure I could tear that down quickly."

"I know…"

"But…" Sasuke leaned in, pressing his body onto hers, "You've given me something to train on now… keep getting better at that, and I can keep getting better at genjutsu."

Tori flushed at the contact, and how low his voice had dropped.

"I wonder how I'd fare at genjutsu…" she mused, trying to change the subject.

"Depends. Every ninja has something they're naturally talented in. I see you like using taijutsu a lot, and it's good that you're branching out into ninjutsu now. Genjutsu could come after you've mastered the other two."

"You're talented in all three…"

Sasuke chuckled, "Not really, yeah, I have this bloodline-granted gift for genjutsu, but my ninjutsu and taijutsu I've been training since I was… very small…"

Tori opened her eyes to see his expression grow somewhat vacant.

"I'd have liked to see you when you were that small," Tori giggled, poking him in the cheek with her nose, "I bet you were cute."

Sasuke looked at her in surprise, "What, I'm not cute now?"

"Nope! Just arrogant and a pain in the ass!" Tori chirped. She wouldn't dare let him ever hear she thought he was attractive.

"Pain in the ass huh?"

Sasuke held her down with one hand, taking his shoes off with the other as he stepped onto the hallway floor. He picked her up, pulling her shoes off and toting her down the hallway.

"Looks like we both need another bath…"

Tori flushed, "I don't have my swimsuit or any clean clothes!"

"Don't worry, I stopped by your room and grabbed your backpack from the trip. And before you say those are dirty, don't lie; I saw you and Sakura doing laundry the day before we left the Land of Waves."

"You're just a stalker…"

"Hard to ignore two girls laughing like idiots and pushing each other off a dock when they're hanging up their clothes to dry… Don't be mad just because I pay attention to detail. Oh and… that little tripwire you set? Might wanna consider putting it somewhere else, it's pretty easy to avoid in that spot."

Tori grumbled.

"Pretentious… fucking…"

Sasuke opened his bedroom door and let the girl down. She pushed away from him and ran to her bag, digging for her swimsuit. Even though they weren't chained up anymore, she didn't wanna risk that the guy knew how to unlock the bathroom door and see her naked.

Sasuke noted the suit. "Hot springs it is then."

"Please, feel free to NOT join me," Tori stomped into the closet to change.

() () () () () ()

Out at the springs, Tori had slipped into the largest one again. She relaxed, letting her head float on the surface. She was really tired now; she could see the streaks on the horizon indicating it was almost dawn. Her eyes were heavy and squinting to stay open.

She was finished scrubbing, now she wanted to let her body soak for a while.

She swam over to the other side of the spring, where there was a gentle slope leading out of the water, perfect for lounging.

She rested on that, her body underwater while her head stuck out.

After a few minutes, she knew she was dozing off, a dangerous thing to do while bathing. But she didn't want to move… it was so nice…

She felt ripples on the water and raised her head regretfully to see what was going on.

No one was there. She laid her head back, figuring it was just the bubbles from the underwater vent.

After about half a minute, she felt them again, but didn't open her eyes.

At least, not until she felt water drops hit her face.

Her weary eyes snapped open to see a dripping wet Sasuke positioned over her, smirking. He hadn't tackled her, just moved himself directly above her, supporting himself with his arms and legs.

Frozen, she remembered the first time she'd ever really looked at him in here… because it was exactly how he looked now. She hoped her face was red enough from the water to hide her blush.

"You're pretty easy to sneak up on," the boy mused, settling himself on top of her.

Tori glared weakly, "I'm also half-asleep, you ass. And what did I tell you about joining me?"

"You said feel free not to. Also means feel free to in my book. Besides, my house, remember?"

Tori groaned and tried to shift herself out from underneath him. Even when she was wide awake, this wasn't possible. Sasuke didn't move, playing with her hair underwater.

"You still have that chakra wall up?" he asked, his look growing a bit more sinister.

Tori took a moment to refocus it around her mind, "Yes, why?"

"Good, practice time."

"Wait wha-"

Sasuke took her eyelids and held them open, his Sharingan out and going to work before Tori could even try to blink. She flinched away, trying to close her eyes, but Sasuke was working fast.

It was a struggle, every time she rebuilt the holes he made in her barrier, he'd tear back through, getting faster with each attempt. Being tired definitely didn't help, either.

As much as she fought and struggled, she tired fast. Sasuke slipped into her mind, blanketing it.

'_I actually had to work for that… that was fun…'_ he chuckled as he let Tori's eyes go. _'So open now… it'd be a simple thing to just order you to stop resisting me… but… that would take all the fun out of this… and defeat the purpose of training.'_

Tori didn't answer, she could barely think. She rested her head against his arm, wanting nothing more than to go to bed.

She felt Sasuke kiss her, and she responded weakly, too tired to be mad about it.

Sasuke picked her up out of the water, carrying her to the chair where her towel was. He set her on her feet, holding her still while he wrapped her up and dried himself off.

He carried her through the house, setting her down in front of the closet and nudging her awake, holding out her backpack.

Half asleep, she took the backpack and went in, closing the door to change, hanging her suit and towel up on the hook behind the door.

Putting a new bra on was a challenge in this state, an amusing one, she thought to herself. She finally got her clothes on and opened the door to see it growing lighter outside.

Sasuke had changed and was pulling back the normal curtain on the window, reaching behind it for the blackout curtain. As he pulled that over the window, the room became as dark as nighttime.

Sasuke climbed into the bed, "Come on…" he cooed, apparently finding it cute that she was so tired… jerk.

She grabbed her backpack and brought it with her, setting it in between them as she climbed in, bundling herself up.

Soon as she was relaxed, she felt the backpack get picked up and heard it get tossed to the floor.

Sasuke dragged her over to him, pushing his body up around hers, his arms wrapping around her. Tori's face burned, but she just couldn't struggle anymore.

'…_Dick.'_

'_You didn't honestly expect me to put up with that, did you?'_

'_I had hoped…'_

'_We get to sleep through the day, the room's nice and dark, just like I promised you a while back…'_

'…_Just shut up…'_

'_Good night to you too…'_

Sasuke nuzzled into the back of her neck, and Tori gave up, letting herself finally drift off to sleep.

() () () () () ()


	21. The Chuunin Exams

**SUMMARY:** The title says it all. Can Team 7 handle the rumored brutality of these exams?

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 21: The Chuunin Exams**

_**One week later…**_

Sakura and Tori were out at the meeting spot at 5:45am, yawning terribly.

After being nocturnal to train for the last week, it'd been hard for Tori to swap it back around to get back into their mission schedule. She'd come home to the Harunos for dinner and a shower to make it look like she was there, but when bedtime hit she'd be out the window, heading out to the forest.

She'd made a little progress with her jutsu, not as much as she'd wanted to make. Sasuke had spent every night chasing her around the forest, so the times she'd been able to stop and practice weren't as common as she'd been hoping.

But she was getting much better at being sneaky, this she knew, thanks to him and watching what he'd been doing. Whenever he'd catch her he'd point out what she was doing wrong.

Her little chakra wall around her mind was getting stronger too, faster than she'd expected.

But the jutsu had been what she really wanted to practice. She pondered to herself the real usage of a ranged attack against people like her. Most shinobi would be able to simply dodge an attack like that unless held down. It'd probably be plenty useful against a band of ordinary thugs, cutthroats, or even soldiers, but she wondered if maybe she should be working on something else. After all, being sent on dangerous missions meant her deadliest foes were shinobi like her.

Her Discharge Jutsu and Lightning Claw Jutsu were ones she was really eager to get up and running. She was already practicing getting her chakra on the surface; the only other aspect of the Discharge Jutsu was then sending it out in an explosion around her, something the ligress was always eager to do.

She was pondering what hand signs she'd need for such a jutsu when Sasuke walked up about five minutes later. Sakura greeted him cheerily, earning silence in response.

Tori sighed in exasperation. Thanks to her and Sasuke's mental wars, communicating this way was now quite easy, even at decent distances.

She opened the silent channel,

'_Really? Do you always have to be so flat-out rude?'_

'_It's the same damn thing every time she sees me.'_

'_So? Be nice to her! She's your teammate!'_

'_Why the fuck should I be nice?'_

Tori thought long and hard before answering. There was really only one way to get this guy to do something she wanted, and him being nice to Sakura was definitely something she wanted,

'_Because… if you're nice to her… I'll… um… I'll… call you… sensei…'_

Sasuke looked up at her in surprise. She looked away.

'_You'd do that… for her?'_

'_Yes, if it means you'll stop making her so miserable, I'll do it.'_ Really, if Sasuke could get Sakura to focus on him, it might take her attention off the subtle hints he'd give about his relationship with Tori, which was her goal in trying to get the two to get along better.

Sasuke cleared his throat,

"Sorry about that Sakura… I was thinking about something… Good morning to you, too"

Sakura's face lit up like Christmas.

"Oh! It's ok, Sasuke-kun! Did you sleep well last night?" she chirped, clearly ecstatic the boy was making conversation. Tori was stifling a grin, the girl's waves of happiness just made her want to smile like an idiot.

'_Without my girl… no, I didn't…'_ he shot over into Tori's head, who inwardly rolled her eyes.

'_I'm NOT your girl! I'm just a poor victim of a possessive, controlling jerk.'_

'_I can stop being nice anytime I want…'_

Tori swallowed,_ 'I mean… yes, sensei…' _The price she paid to get what she wanted…

"I slept fine, thanks," he responded to Sakura.

'_See? Talking to girls isn't so bad…'_

'_You haven't had to talk to girls as __**me **__yet.'_

'_Thank God for not bestowing me with a dick and a sexy face and body.'_

Sasuke seemed to freeze.

"What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura quipped, noticing the boy going still in the middle of her next question.

"N-nothing… just thought I'd forgotten to lock my door…"

'_Did you just…?'_ The boy sounded flabbergasted.

'_What?'_

'_Nothing… I'll talk to you about it later…'_

Naruto ran up to them at five minutes till.

"Good morning, Sakura! Good morning, Tori!" he called happily, racing up to them, a big goofy grin on his face until he spied Sasuke.

Both of them glared at each other for a long moment and went quiet.

'_What… the fuck… was that all about?'_

'_None of your business.'_ Sasuke's mood had clearly just hit the trash.

'_Oh really? So everything in MY head is YOUR business, but when I'M curious about something, nope!'_

'_That's what happens when your head's full of nothing important.'_

'_EXCUSE YOU? Fine! I see how it is! No more of this then!'_

And with that, she slammed up her chakra wall, blocking the boy out.

_**Three hours later…**_

"Hey guys! I got lost!" greeted Kakashi as he appeared out of nowhere.

"Stop lying with a straight face!" snapped Sakura, clearly pissy from having to hang around Naruto, Sasuke, and Tori's terrible moods.

Tori sat inside her head glowering while Naruto started up the rant he was hoping would work again: that they needed a harder mission than another silly D-rank genin mission. Honestly, Tori welcomed the easy work after the Land of Waves and was in no mood to complain… at least, not about that.

She glanced over at Kakashi, wondering how he and whoever he'd taken the necklace to had handled it. She hoped it was safe; not out of concern for the little conniving killer inside it, but out of fear that someone else might get a hold of it.

Kakashi briefed the team on their mission, took Tori's bracelet off since it'd be outside the village walls, and waved them away, something about helping out at a local ranch. Sasuke and Sakura turned to go, Naruto simply bolted in the direction he thought it would be, and Tori knew she'd have to find him and bring him to the right spot later… but for now, she was curious.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi turned, already appearing to know what she wanted to ask.

"It's protected. For the safety of both of you it'd be best if I didn't tell you what we did with it."

Tori sighed, a bit relieved but wanting to know if what they did was really enough. If anyone so much as touched it…

She inwardly shook her head. She had to trust Kakashi-sensei did the right thing. The necklace was discovered here in the village, surely someone knew its origins and how to properly handle it…

Kakashi walked away, signaling the end of the conversation. Tori turned and jogged after her teammates.

As she caught up with them, she felt pressure on the chakra wall she had around her mind, as if there were someone…

Sasuke was looking directly at her. She glared and looked away quickly, smirking mentally at his attempt to break in. He wanted to know what she'd talked to Kakashi about, and now he couldn't. It wasn't something that was difficult to guess but… it was the principle of the matter.

"What was that all about Tori?" Sakura turned to see the girl run up beside her.

"Oh nothing, just a question I had for Kakashi-sensei. Did you see which way Naruto went?"

"Hell if I know. Might wanna wait to go get him till we actually get there though, wouldn't want to have to go looking for two of you."

"Agreed."

The ranch wasn't far from the village. Horses and cows dotted the grassy landscape, grazing peacefully. Tori loved horses, this might be a place to start frequenting if the owners would allow it.

Once she had a bearing on her location, she set out to find Naruto. He hadn't been too far off the mark, only missing the ranch by a mile or two. Her speed helped her find him quickly, and with how speedy he was as well, they both made it back before long.

Sakura and Sasuke were mucking out stalls when they reached the ranch house, scooping old, dirty bedding into a wheelbarrow.

Tori reported in to the owner and was asked to take Naruto and bring in two horses that had wandered a bit far from the ranch. She inquired about the lack of fencing, receiving the answer that the horses and cattle usually didn't wander too far and fencing land this large was quite expensive.

She and Naruto went to the barn and Tori showed him how to use a halter, a bridle without a metal bit that allowed for a rope to be attached to lead the horse around.

After training him on how to catch a free-roaming horse using carrots and quick hands to get the halter on before the horse noticed, they headed out, halters and leads over their shoulders.

"Where did you learn so much about horses?" came the inevitable question.

Tori looked up at the sky, "Home. My mother had me taking horseback lessons when I was very small. I learned a lot before I had to leave."

Naruto looked at her curiously, "What was your mom like?"

Tori thought for a moment before answering.

"My mother was… kind. She was a bit of a hothead sometimes when my dad was messing with her, or when one of us was getting in trouble at school… but she had a lot of heart."

"So she sounds like you." Naruto laughed a bit. Tori tilted her head. Naruto thought she was kind? After everything they'd been through? …Or was it the hothead bit he was referring to? "You also said 'one of us'… you had siblings?"

"Yeah…" Tori grew quiet, "I had a big brother and a little sister."

"Where are they now?"

Tori almost didn't want to tell him. She knew why he was asking, and she wanted to entertain him with what little she could remember of her family, and she was still trying to work through the depression she got into whenever she remembered how they died.

With a deep breath, she finally mustered out the word, "…dead."

At this, Naruto grew quiet too, "So… you don't have a family either…"

"I do… they're just not my birth family. It'd be rather bratty to say the Harunos weren't my family after all they did to take care of me, wouldn't it?"

"Oh yeah… um, well… off the sad stuff… do you remember what your brother and sister were like? And your dad?"

Tori smiled softly. He could tell it'd been getting awkward and was trying to turn to a different direction so he could still get his answers. She'd still talk; it was nice to remember their living forms as opposed to the dead ones.

"My dad was… a jack of all trades. He was a technology whiz, a mechanic, an electrician, a health nut, a musician, a mathematician…"

"That's a lotta stuff!"

"Yeah, he was always into something," Tori laughed, remembering how the dining room table was always cluttered with her dad's work papers and converted into an office while her mother was constantly yelling at him to clean it up. "My brother was… a sports nerd. He played a lot of them and watched them on TV…"

"Sports?"

"Yeah, you know… football? Soccer? Baseball?"

Naruto tilted his head. Tori raised an eyebrow; he really had no idea.

"Um, it's pretty much a game that everyone makes a big deal about."

"Like tag?"

"Like tag but… more people are watching and getting excited about it than just the people playing."

"Sounds weird."

"I never got it, either. But yeah, he was a jerk, and bossy, and loud, and rude, too."

"That's not very nice."

"Well he's a brother; it's his job to be that way."

"It is? No way, if I had a brother, I'd show him everything I know! All my best jutsu, the best flavors of ramen, the best training spots…"

Tori laughed, "It'd be nothing like that. You two would hate each other and be at each other's throats all the time, always competing, always trying to be the better one…"

"How do you know? Just because it'd be two guys doesn't mean we'd be like that!"

"I know because I was like that with my brother! And despite all the crap I talk about him… it's weird… Having a brother is like… well, for you… having a huge bowl of ice cream. At first you're like 'YEAH! Ice cream!' then when you've been eating for a while you're like 'ugh… ice cream…' and once it's gone and you haven't had any for a while, you think 'Man… I wish I had some ice cream…'"

Naruto appeared to be thinking about what she said, so she continued, "My point is, I miss the guy more than anything, despite what I say. He and I would fight so easily when we were together, but when we were apart I missed him terribly. My sister was much the same way, except she was like Sakura, she was a girl who loved girl stuff. My tomboy nature never really rubbed off on her."

"Was she pretty?"

"I used to say she was ugly as sin… but she really wasn't. She was pretty, and she'd probably have grown up to be a really gorgeous girl."

"You know something, Tori…"

"What's that?"

"All this talk about siblings… Konohamaru and I are like that. He annoys the crap out of me sometimes, but I'd help him out if he ever needed it, and I'd probably never tell him I think he's an awesome kid, cuz that'll give him an even bigger head, but still!"

"You know who's even more like that with you?"

Naruto's eyes widened, "Who?"

"Sasuke. You two are always going at it, pushing each other to the limit, hating each other's guts every second of every day… you two are the textbook definition of brothers."

"HELL NO! I will NEVER say Sasuke's my brother! That stuck-up bastard can kiss my ass! I gotta take today's mission as a chance to show him up once and for all! COME HERE, YOU STUPID HORSES!"

With that, Naruto bolted into the trees.

"Oh shit…"

() () () () () () () ()

_**Several hours later…**_

Tori hefted a bruised-up Naruto through the streets of Konoha, Sakura lecturing him the whole way.

"It's because you push yourself too much. You're lucky Tori knew how to handle that runaway, or you'd have totally lost that horse for good and we'd have to do extra dirty work to pay for it."

"Jeez, can't you take care of yourself?" snapped Sasuke as he walked ahead of them, "You even let a horse beat the shit out of you."

That set the boy off, "GOD DAMMIT SASUKE!" All bruises forgotten, he attempted to pounce on his teammate. Tori restrained him, not out of worry for Sasuke's well-being, oh hell no, but out of worry that Naruto's condition would worsen greatly should Sasuke decide to brutally "defend himself".

"Hm… teamwork seems to be suffering lately…" noted Kakashi. Tori's stomach tightened in fear. If this for any reason brought those god-forsaken chains out again, she'd kill Sasuke herself.

"Yeah! Way to ruin our teamwork, Sasuke! Always hogging the spotlight, bastard!" yelled Naruto.

"That would be you, moron. If you want me to stop making you look bad…"

He turned his head back to look at the other boy, "Then just get stronger than me."

Sakura looked between the two, panicked. Tori heard Kakashi move and glanced his way. Their sensei's head was turned toward the sky. Following his gaze, Tori noted he was looking at a bird. Why he was staring at a bird at a time like this, she couldn't fathom.

"Ok, that's it for today, I'm going to go submit this report," he said, his gaze quickly returning to the four in front of him.

"Then I'm going home…" said Sasuke as he turned and walked away.

"Oh! Um… Sasuke-kun, wait!" chirped Sakura.

The boy stopped, quite regretfully, to hear her out.

"How about we work on our teamwork?" she asked, fluffing up her hair, "You know, just the two of us?"

Tori almost dropped Naruto in the fit of laughter that welled up inside her, which quickly dissipated at the verbal onslaught that followed.

"Really? You're the same as Naruto," Sasuke snapped, "If you have the time to bother me, you've got time to practice a jutsu or two. Frankly, I even consider your ability _beneath_ Naruto's. If you can't pull your own weight, you're just going to drag the whole team down."

He spun around and marched off. Naruto pushed himself off Tori's shoulder and wobbled over to Sakura. Kakashi took that opportunity to vanish.

Praying that Naruto would provide what Sakura needed to cheer up, Tori took off as well. As much as she wanted to beat the crap out of Sasuke for being so rude to Sakura, he had a point.

As she ran along the fence that lined the streets, using her chakra to balance, she smelled something… unfamiliar.

Taking what she'd learned so far into account, she slipped down from the fence into the bushes, crawling softly so as not to disturb them. From the bushes, she slowly slipped up into the trees. Climbing as high as she dared while staying on the side facing away from the calamity she heard rising from where she left Sakura and Naruto, she got up near the very top where the leaf cover got incredibly dense.

Keeping her chakra in her hands and feet so she could lie unseen against the tree, she peeked out through the leaves down into the street.

A boy clothed in all black was holding what appeared to be Konohamaru, Naruto's little buddy, in his hand, angrily yelling at both the small boy and Naruto, who was on the ground. A pretty blonde girl stood next to him, a large object strapped to her back.

From this vantage, Tori watched as Sasuke slipped up smoothly into a tree branch below her, a rock in his hand. With a well-aimed throw, he pegged the black-clothed boy in the hand, making him drop Konohamaru.

"What're you assholes doing in our village?" he quipped, another rock readied in his hand. Sakura's squees were audible even at this range.

The unfamiliar smell came back, stronger. Moving slowly, Tori shifted to look at the other side as a red-haired boy with a large gourd on his back crept up the tree, silent as death as he shifted his feet onto a branch. She'd have never known he was there had she not smelled him. He didn't appear to be readying any weapons, but just in case…

'_Watch your six…'_

She saw Sasuke tense up more, hopefully meaning he'd heard her.

"I hate show-offs like you even more than I hate bratty little midgets," snarled the boy in black to Sasuke as he pulled a large, bandaged object off his back.

"You're not seriously gonna use Karasu?" asked the blonde girl, dumbfounded.

The redhead came out from behind the tree, suspended upside down with his feet attached to a branch behind Sasuke, as Tori predicted.

"Kankuro, stop," he snapped. His voice… it gave Tori chills. Even though she gave Sasuke warning, she saw him turn to look at the source; probably just to see what kind of guy a voice like that would belong to.

"You're an embarrassment to our village," he continued.

"O-oh… um… Gaara…" Kankuro stammered. The hierarchy of that team was quite apparent.

"Losing yourself in a fight… just pathetic. Why do you think we came all this way to the Leaf Village?"

'_So they're not from here… that makes sense… I've never seen them before. I wonder where they came from?'_ Tori mused.

The ligress shifted, focused on the one named Gaara.

'_He scaring you as much as he scares me?'_

No response came.

"Listen, Gaara… they started it…" Kankuro began.

"Shut up," Gaara snapped, "Or I'll kill you."

The words rang like ice through Tori's blood, her heartbeat increased slightly. This guy was no fucking joke.

The two on the ground began apologizing "I-I'm sorry… really sorry, Gaara…"

"M-me too, really, really, sorry…" stuttered the blonde.

Gaara looked back to Sasuke, "I'm sorry about them."

He vanished, appearing on the ground next to his teammates. "It looks like we got here too early, but it's no excuse to be playing around."

"I-I know…" Kankuro muttered.

With the spot clear, Tori took the opportunity to reveal herself.

Pushing off the trunk, she jumped to the tree in front of her, grabbing the branch above Sasuke and dropping lightly next to him, using her feet to hold the branch.

This soft set of movements triggered a few quick snaps of different heads in her direction, namely Gaara's.

"You, how long have you been there?" he said, fixating Tori with his strange blue eyes.

"The whole time," Sasuke answered for her, "She's the one who told me you were there." Though the redhead's expression never changed, Tori scented some slight irritation from him.

Despite Sasuke bulldozing her by speaking on her behalf, she had to admit she might not have worded the response so well, or even been that honest... though honesty might not have been the wisest course in this regard.

Turning after a long moment, Gaara motioned to his companions, "Let's go."

"Hey, wait!" Sakura started after them.

"What?" Gaara looked back.

"You're from the Sand Village right? Despite us being allies, you need our village's permission to be here. State your business, and depending on what it is, we might not be able to let you go."

Tori had forgotten that part. By default she'd assumed that them being here so openly meant they had permission from someone… but for all she knew they could've been here illegally and simply acting like they belonged. Good on Sakura to challenge them.

"Wow… that clueless, huh?" The blonde pulled what appeared to be a pass out of her jacket. "Yeah, we're from the Sand Village, and we're genin. We're here to take the Chuunin Exam being held in your village."

"Chuunin Exam?" quipped Naruto.

"Yeah, where outstanding genin from every ninja village come together to take an exam and hopefully make the rank of chuunin. It's supposed to foster friendship between villages and-"

"Konohamaru! You think I should take this exam?" Naruto had clearly lost interest in her answer already.

"Why ask me if you won't even listen to the whole response?" the girl snapped angrily.

Sasuke vanished from his perch in the tree, appearing in front of Naruto.

"You, what's your name?" he asked.

"Wh-who? Me?" the blonde was turning red.

"No." The answer's bluntness was all the shutdown she needed. Ouch. "You, with the gourd."

Gaara faced Sasuke, his head tilted curiously, "Gaara… of the desert."

Apparently Tori had been the only one of the two of them to hear Kankuro address him before.

Gaara continued, "I'm also interested in your name…" he paused, looking up at Tori, his eyes piercing right through her, "and hers."

"Sasuke Uchiha. Up there is-"

"I'm Tori Ayuka." Tori said loudly from up in the tree, not wanting Sasuke to do her introduction for her, too.

Gaara huffed, "Glad to see she has a voice."

"Hey! What about me?" asked Naruto, waving wildly at himself.

"Don't care. Let's go," he told the other two, disappearing.

Clearly miffed about being ignored, Naruto started up another rant about not losing to Sasuke, who began arguing with him.

The wind blew at Tori's back on her perch, carrying some vague muttering behind her to her ears.

"…the black-haired leaf, and the sand with the gourd… let's keep our eyes on them…"

She didn't turn her head to arouse suspicion, but the muttering stopped, so she assumed they left, whoever they were. She inwardly shuddered. All these strangers in their village made her feel unsafe. Sasuke had already painted a target on himself with his little show. She pretty much did too, though hers was a bit more unintentional. It certainly didn't help that Sasuke had kind of bragged about her when she would've pretended she'd just gotten there.

She sighed, and turned casually to leave, glancing up where she thought the voices were coming from. As she'd suspected, no one was there.

She didn't care that the ligress was helping her with sensory at the moment, she didn't want to be taken unaware by any of these strange ninja, especially if there were more like Gaara floating around.

She took the most discreet path home, avoiding the streets, which she knew they'd be watching.

She headed between the fencing into a small wooded area, stopping when she noticed Sasuke sitting at the base of one of the trees.

'_I decided surprising you would be unwise with us trying to stay hidden. You've made it apparent that you like to yell when startled.'_

'_How did you…?'_

'_I've known about this path you take for a while. It wasn't your current skills to blame, I assure you.'_

'…_All the same… god dammit… is there nowhere I can go that's just my own damn business and you know nothing about it?'_

'_This isn't about your business right now; it's about us looking after each other. There are strangers here, as you're aware. We need to be careful.'_

'_You intercepted me for a pep talk?'_

'_No, I intercepted you to take you home.'_

'_You think you need to walk me back to my house? It's like right there, I just need to hop up this tree and go over the street and a few houses down.'_

'_I'm very aware of that; however, I'm not taking you to that house. We're obviously going to the safer of the two we have available to us.'_

'_Your house? You think your house is safer?'_

'_My house is in a deserted compound that most people think is closed off, and it's quiet. We could hear people coming there more easily than you could at Sakura's house.'_

'_And no one would hear us scream when they killed us.'_

'_If they're as good as we think, that won't matter. Silent killing is the name of the game, and these guys appear to be very, very good at that. Had you not warned me about Gaara, I'd have never known he was there.'_

'_In that argument, it makes yours a moot point too. They can sneak up on us just as easily in silence than in a more crowded part of the village.'_

'_Very true… but we have your nose. With the crowded part, there are a lot of scents, old and new, to muddle theirs up, but where I am, you already know the area, you'll smell any new scents coming from a long way off.'_

'_That is true… the only reason I knew Gaara was there was because I smelled him.'_

'_So it's settled…'_

'_No, it's not settled! Why do I have to be a part of this?'_

'_Because Gaara wanted both our names. If it were just mine, I'd make sure we stayed far apart to draw attention away from you.'_

Now Tori _really_ regretted unveiling herself.

'_Not my fault someone got a little too proud of how well he trained me.'_

'_Well thank you very much.'_

'_Don't mention it… ever.'_

'_I'll mention something else instead when we get home.'_

'_I'm not going there! How many times do I have to say it?'_

'_About as many times as I'll argue otherwise before I just take you there. It's for your safety.'_

'_I can take care of myself!'_

'_Not against them, you can't. We're a team, let's act like it.'_

'_What about Sakura and Naruto?'_

'_They're not on any hit lists yet, no one sees them as a threat. It's better to let them stay obscure.'_

'_Cause the two of us could__** totally**__ take on a three-man squad… especially one with Gaara in it.'_

'_I've got faith in us; it's certainly better odds than three on one.'_

'_If I'm gonna die, I will die having chosen where I want to be.'_

'_Would you cut it with your stupid principles and be logical for a second here? You either do it willingly or unwillingly, but we can't stay here much longer. We need to go get your stuff from Sakura's house and get home before someone finds us and starts following us.'_

'_Is that a threat?'_

'_It's a promise. Stop being a retard and let's go, do __**not**__ make this difficult right now.'_

'_Well in that case… have at it.'_ Chakra wall was up, bring it on.

'_You won't like what I have planned if I have to make you do this…'_

She didn't budge. She would die with her principles intact.

Hands pushed her against the trunk, fingers holding her eyelids open. The power that slammed against her mind at that moment was dizzying; Sasuke really wasn't holding back.

Even the ligress seemed to be irritated with her resistance, refusing to help when Tori tried to summon some chakra to zap Sasuke off of her.

'_Et tu, Ligress?'_

The cat looked at her almost angrily, surprising her. The ligress didn't get angry about much. Sure, she got frustrated with not getting to let loose, but anger was a rare emotion for her.

Tori actually was doing a fairly decent job holding Sasuke back with her own chakra, pleasing her greatly. Her downfall, shockingly, came from within. The ligress, siding with Sasuke, actually sabotaged the mental defenses, throwing Tori's chakra into chaos to make it uncontrollable.

'_You traitor!'_ She'd been doing so well!

The wall fell to pieces in microseconds and Sasuke was in, assuming control and ordering her to follow him quietly and do as he commanded.

They went to Sakura's house, Sasuke waited in the trees outside while Tori went in. Sasuke commanded her to tell Mrs. Haruno that she was spending the night at Hinata's house since they hadn't gotten to talk since they became genin. It scared Tori that he knew this, but… she realized he had access to this information now.

Upstairs, he commanded her to grab two duffels and stuff tons of clothes in them. Almost her entire closet went in. He then had her pack her usual backpack with anything else that would fit that she'd need. He came to the window and had her hand him the duffel bags, sending her downstairs afterwards with her backpack to tell Mrs. Haruno goodbye.

Once outside, he handed her one of the bags and they made their way silently back to the Uchiha residence. Instead of going in the gate, they slipped through the trees to the back of the complex, scaling the wall with their chakra and coming down within some of the other houses. They threaded through the small alleyways, checking back up on the wall and in the sky constantly to make sure they weren't being watched. If so much as a bird flew over, Sasuke would pin them both to a wall. Tori noted that Sasuke seemed pretty tired after one such event, strange for him.

They reached the house quickly, getting inside. As Sasuke locked the door, Tori felt him release her mind. She was about to let him have it, but stopped when he staggered away from her and sat down on the step, taking his shoes off in an exhausted manner.

Her anger quickly dissipated into concern, "Are you ok?"

"I'll be fine… no thanks to your goddamn principles…"

She was taken aback, "What?"

"Holding my genjutsu for that long, making you do as much as you did… while still doing what I was doing. It was taxing… it was a workload I've never had to do before, but I did it for you."

Tori felt a bit bad now. Inconveniencing him in a minor way was amusing, irritating him was delightful, but causing him physical and mental exhaustion and pain… wasn't as fun as she thought it would be.

"…I'm sorry…" Her voice was small, like how she felt.

Sasuke's face grew alarmed, "Wait what?"

"I… I said… that… I'm sorry… for… y'know… putting you through that…"

She tugged on his arm to help him up, taking him to his room.

"Who are you and where's Tori? She doesn't say sorry, and she _certainly _doesn't help me when I'm down."

"Shut up, I just feel bad is all, give it a rest." Tori put Sasuke in the bathroom, handing him a towel, "Take a bath and relax or something, just feel better."

"Are you not coming with me?"

"For a bath? Are you insane?"

"…That actually came out wrong. I meant… to just hang around."

"I'm gonna go bathe in the hot springs, you just take your bath. I'll try to make us some dinner when I'm done. Then I suppose we can hang around, seeing as how your diabolical plan of bringing my entire wardrobe and most of my belongings over here to tether me to this place is proving successful at the moment."

"Don't worry; it'll stay that way." At her small joke, his cocky attitude seemed to return.

"Don't count on it."

Tori closed the door and proceeded to take her hot spring bath. Thankfully, it was actually uneventful; Sasuke was being good and staying in the bathroom.

She went inside and changed in the closet, heading into the kitchen to cook and deciding at that moment to focus on the ligress's strange behavior. It was odd for her to get angry at her and side with Sasuke… odd in the way that it had never happened before.

'_What the hell was that? Why did you help him?'_

The ligress raised her head and seemed to glare in her direction.

'_What? What did I do?'_

An uneasy feeling rose up in her, as did an image of Gaara.

'_Him? He's why you sided with Sasuke?'_ She knew the ligress had been fixated on the boy for some reason, but why was that strong enough to bring about such anger?

Apparently the ligress realized she wasn't getting the hint and replayed a memory: _'Shut up… or I'll kill you.'_

'_You're… afraid of him?'_

A confirmation feeling was her response.

'_You're afraid of him… and you think it's wiser for me to stay with Sasuke to stay alive?'_

The ligress chuffed in irritation; her emotions were divided between some decisions.

Finally, after a long moment, a terrifying image came to Tori's mind. A giant, angry beast made of sand slashed at her, dust whipping about, cutting her skin, stinging her eyes, ears, and nose. She tried to zap the creature, to no avail. Her electricity had no effect on it; her claws and teeth were met with soft sand that choked her and did nothing to hurt her opponent. She could only try to escape with her life; it was her only choice.

She dodged as the beast swiped at her again, leaping forward, and Tori glimpsed massive black-and-white-striped paws in her field of vision, claws extended for gripping the ground. She tried to dodge as the beast's tail extended around, but it snagged her, wrapping around her body. She screamed as it tightened around her chest and limbs, crushing her… caging her… closing over her eyes to block out the sun…

"TORI!"

"GAAAAH!"

Tori jumped backwards, snatched up by Sasuke before she smacked hard into a wall.

"Dammit, what the fuck was going on in there?" he snapped. His face was white, and he was holding himself up with one hand on the kitchen counter, clearly still exhausted.

"What? What the hell did you scare me for?"

"You weren't breathing! You were gasping for air! Don't fucking scare me like that!"

"Wait what?"

"What the fuck were you seeing?"

"I… I don't know… I think... I think it had something to do with Gaara."

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"How did it have anything to do with Gaara? What… the hell…" He grew paler and began to slump forward, "…was it… fuck… Can we go lie down?" Clearly his adrenaline rush was wearing off.

Tori supported him back to the bedroom. She helped him onto the bed and put the blankets on him. Not wanting to make things worse, she turned off the light and climbed into bed on her side without making a fuss.

After explaining why the ligress helped him, much to his amusement and Tori's irritation, Tori described the scene the ligress had shown her.

"I don't know why, but I have a strong feeling it's one of her memories, and the fact that she showed it to me after discussing Gaara makes me positive they're related."

"I would have to agree with you there. Unless she can give you some more info though, it'd be wise for us to just keep an eye on him like usual and just keep these things in mind. Perhaps, before this exam is done, we'll have our answers."

"I hope so… I guess we'll keep worrying about it tomorrow." She pulled up the blankets and got under them, rolling over to go to sleep.

'_Oh… one more thing…'_ Sasuke opened their mental channel.

'_What?'_

'_You think I have a sexy face and body?'_

'_When the fuck did I say that?'_

'_This morning.' _He sounded pleased.

'_Well, take it as a moment of minor delusion and leave it at that.'_

'_No, I want to think of it more as a moment of clarity.'_

'_Whatever helps you sleep at night…'_

'_I could just take you over and find out for sure…'_

'_I think my ligress would help this time; you'd be screwed.'_

'_I'm getting better too, you know.'_

'_Whatever, just go to sleep, you need it more than I do.'_

Though it did bring up an interesting point, Sasuke had the chance to see the memories she'd carefully hidden from him after the Land of Waves and he didn't take it. She hated to admit it, but there was trust building up there. It was nice to know he wouldn't look at things like that when he had full control over her.

…or he just forgot about it in the heat of the moment. She'd find out in time.


	22. We're a Team!

**SUMMARY:** Team 7's morale is low, and their ability to work together is getting worse. To face these exams, they're going to have to step it up.

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 22: We're A Team!**

_**The next day…**_

"I am so sick of this! How is this even allowed? He tells us to be here at a certain time, then makes us wait!"

Tori winced and covered the ear pointed in Sakura's direction as she started up on another rant about Kakashi's lateness.

"Absolutely right, Sakura!" chirped Naruto.

"I mean, what about MY feelings? I overslept and didn't have time to blow-dry my hair!"

"Yeah! I overslept, too! I didn't have time to wash my face or brush my teeth!"

"That's… gross, Naruto…"

"Why's everything always gotta be so high-tension with them?" grumbled Sasuke, leaning against the wall next to Tori.

"Eh, they have a point… though I certainly won't be the one to test and see what happens if I show up three hours late," mused Tori.

"They don't need to be so friggin loud about it…"

To pass the time, Tori had been practicing putting her chakra near the surface of her body, not enough to cause any sparks, but just to make it easier to get there. Maintaining the chakra wall around her mind was additional strain, but good practice.

She had finally managed to get almost all of it where she wanted it when Kakashi appeared.

"Morning, kids! Today, I got lost on the road of life…"

Sakura and Naruto began verbally berating the guy as he jumped down from the pole he'd appeared on.

Ignoring their outbursts, he withdrew four forms from his coat, "Just so you guys know, I nominated you for the Chuunin Exam."

Tori's eyes widened, "Wait… WHAT?"

Sasuke had a smirk on his face; he was clearly pleased.

Naruto and Sakura seemed as surprised as Tori.

"Here are your applications." Kakashi held the four forms out to them, which they took.

Naruto's anger had given way to shock, which now gave way to glee, "KAKASHI-SENSEI, I LOVE YOU!" he cried as he pounced their sensei.

"Get… off of me… jeez," Kakashi pried the boy off of him and straightened his jacket before continuing, "Just because I nominated you doesn't mean you have to take it though. If you do decide you want to, fill out those forms and return them to room 301 tomorrow. That is all."

Without another word, Kakashi vanished.

Naruto was ecstatic as they walked away together, chirping about the exam and how strong the contestants would be.

'_Yeah… they'll be strong all right…'_ pondered Tori.

'_Strong like him… maybe I'll get to fight him…'_ Sasuke's voice echoed in her mind, a picture of Gaara appearing. His excitement about it made her want to smile; he very rarely got excited about anything.

Sakura's scent grew weaker, Tori looked behind to notice the girl had stopped walking and was looking at her form, a deep sadness on her face.

The boys kept walking, but Tori turned back, approaching the girl, "Sakura? Are you ok?"

Sakura's head snapped up, "Oh yeah! Totally fine! No need to worry! Was just thinking about something!" Her happiness was way overdone.

Tori made a face at her, "You can talk to me, you know. I know something's bothering you."

"No, nothing at all, you're just imagining things! Let's get home, shall we?"

Tori allowed the girl to drag her to their house, smelling her sadness. What was bothering her? Did she know about her and Sasuke? No… she wouldn't have been acting so normal before Kakashi showed up.

She looked down at their forms. Was it these? What about the Chuunin exam could be upsetting her? Was she scared of fighting all those difficult opponents?

"Hey… you know we're a team, right?" Tori looked at Sakura as they reached their front door, but her question seemed to deepen the girl's depression.

"Yeah… I know."

"We'll do it together; we've all got each other's backs."

"That's… not even it, Tori… just… never mind…" Sakura dropped the girl's arm and went inside.

Tori looked after her, deeply concerned.

'_What's wrong with her?'_ Sasuke asked, shifting on the tree branch above. He'd followed them home.

'_I… don't know. She's… very depressed about something.'_

'_I gathered that; we'll have to worry about it later. Come on, we've got training to do and a whole free day to do it.'_

Tori sighed, looking at the front door. If Sakura wouldn't tell her what was upsetting her there was no way to really help. She turned and went into the trees behind their house, joined by Sasuke when they were out of sight.

The pair sparred for a bit to warm up, Sasuke winning, as usual. Tori knew she'd improved though; the first night they trained together, he had her on the ground in seconds. Now, she could dodge him and use his speed against him in most cases, though he was getting wise to her adaptations as well.

"All right, taijutsu done, let's do some ninjutsu." Sasuke went out to the lake, and together, they worked on basic techniques, after which they decided to focus on the specialty moves Tori had been developing.

Actually getting to practice her jutsu uninterrupted for once was something to be happy about. She consulted Sasuke about the one ranged attack she'd been working on, and he agreed that it wasn't ideal for going against other shinobi who could easily dodge it unless she could surprise them with it somehow.

She'd been working with the ligress on accessing her claws, fangs and tail when the creature wasn't in control, something that was proving difficult. She had to let the cat take over those areas just enough to draw out the features without her assuming actual control. Her consolation for the cat was that she'd get to claw more things up if she could have these out more frequently.

So far, her Discharge Jutsu was coming along nicely since she was getting better at getting her chakra to the surface quickly. The key was to simply have it there, then when she wanted it to happen, the ligress would simply detonate it in an electrical explosion.

She wanted to keep working on that one in private, so she allowed Sasuke to help her work on her Lightning Claw jutsu. They went back to the trees to avoid being seen as easily.

Working with the ligress to get the claws out was, as usual, difficult, but after a long while of mental tug-of-war, she managed to balance out the areas to let the cat slip into.

Sasuke looked on as Tori flexed her jaw, the fangs sprouting. Tensing her hand muscles, she flexed them, allowing three-inch blades to sprout from her fingertips. Finally, flexing her back muscles, the tail sprouted, which she had to adjust her pants to allow free movement of.

A small growl escaped her mouth. Opening her eyes, she looked over at Sasuke, whose face was beyond shock. She realized the last time he'd seen her like this was the first day they met.

She smirked a little, "Every bit as badass as you remember?"

"The fact that you're holding her back the way you are is pretty incredible. Isn't she supposed to be some massive creature of death and destruction?"

"Not really, but I told her she'd get to claw something up, so she's a bit more malleable."

"Well let's give her something to claw up then."

Tori focused her chakra into her hands, not a difficult feat since she did it for tree climbing anyways.

From there, she faced a tree that Sasuke picked out. It was large and wide. Readying her claws, with the chakra brimming beneath them, she charged.

As she readied to swipe, the ligress detonated the chakra in her hands. The result was an explosion of electricity… followed by her swiping the tree, leaving five long gashes in the bark.

She growled in frustration, a deep, rumbling sound.

"What happened?"

"She let the chakra loose too soon; it's gotta be as I make contact with the target."

"Well that's what practice is for. Come on, let's go."

Over the next few hours, Tori worked on getting the ligress to time her explosions with the impact of the claws. The result was a bit more of a feel for what the other was thinking.

When she managed to successfully time the strikes with the shocks… well, the result made them have to pick another tree. A decent-sized crater would be left where she impacted.

"It must be pretty devastating, really," Sasuke pondered aloud, "Wood doesn't conduct electricity very well, yet you still manage to damage it severely with these explosions. The chakra must have a volatile nature besides the electric one, which I know you've told me, but now I see it manifested in physical form."

Tori finally plopped down, noting that it was now very late afternoon.

"We've… made a bit of progress today," she said.

"That we have. Well, you more than me, but if this team's gonna work, every link must be as strong as another. If we're gonna do these exams and face down people like Gaara, we'll need to all be strong."

"Agreed."

"You know, we still need to train one last thing."

"One last thing?"

"Genjutsu."

"Oh, come on, not out here…"

"What?"

"If someone sees us sparring or working on ninjutsu, that's totally legit, but if they catch us just staring at each other…"

"And?"

"Oh, right… you don't care. Can we at least go back to the house?"

"This early?"

"I'll go back and do the whole thing at the Harunos when we've finished training there, ok?"

"Am I gonna have to come get you when you've finished 'doing your thing'?"

Tori sighed. As much as she wanted to fight him for the sake of fighting him, she didn't want to risk being discovered, and she knew he might purposely cause a racket. "No…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, can we go now?"

"Ok, ok."

They raced back. Using her own speed, Tori found she was keeping up with Sasuke now, a nice change. She still couldn't beat him, but she'd get there.

Upon reaching the house, they slipped in and went to the living room.

"This should be as good a spot as any." Sasuke dropped onto the couch, "Don't shut your eyes on me, I wanna see how you really would have fared last night."

"Yeah, yeah…" Tori plopped down on the other end.

Sasuke scooted close as if to pin her down, but she pushed him back, "That's not necessary; I can sit up and stare at you just fine on my own, thanks."

He smirked, "Habit."

Sitting a few feet apart on the couch facing each other, Sasuke began his assault. The Sharingan danced before her eyes, but hidden behind her wall of chakra, she was safe for the moment.

Sasuke tore at her defense, fingers of power gripping wherever they could find a weak spot and pulling it down.

Tori replaced and reinforced the broken parts as fast as she could, pulling from the vast chakra stores she had. She felt Sasuke getting faster, and she had to speed up, too.

The fight went on for what seemed like an eternity. Tori felt herself growing exhausted, not from lack of chakra but from the effort of maintaining her wall. She was slowing down, and Sasuke began to gain ground.

Finally, she felt him break through as she'd been going to protect the spot he'd attacked. Instead of invading like usual though, he withdrew once he got through.

He broke eye contact, and Tori realized he was panting and sweating, as was she.

Before she could say anything, he pounced, grabbing her and kissing her ferociously, making her mind go completely numb. She didn't even care about resisting, his lips on hers just felt… amazing.

He broke away after a while, still out of breath, "You… are incredible."

"Wha…?" Tori was still dazed, her face on fire.

"You definitely still need work in taijutsu and ninjutsu, but genjutsu… I never expected you to get this good so fast. You went from pretty much nothing to having a solid defense that took me literally hours to take down… you sure you don't have a bloodline gift?"

"Hours… what?"

"It's dark out."

"Dark…? Dark… Oh, shit! Dinner!"

"Dinner? Well yeah, we gotta make it…"

"No! The Harunos!"

"You were out late training and lost track of time, relax."

"No, I gotta get back now. Man… I can't even enjoy it when you finally give me a nice compliment…"

"So compliments on your training are the only kind you consider nice? I'll keep that in mind."

Tori dashed out the door after tugging on her shoes and grabbing her backpack with clean clothes, barely hearing him.

Racing home, she dashed in the front door. Sakura was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, Tori! Goodness, I was getting worried, I was about to call Kakashi and find out what sort of training was making you late for dinner."

"Sorry… no, I was just training by myself."

"By yourself? With all these strange ninja in the village? You need to be more careful. And wash your hands; your dinner's already cold enough, you might as well eat before you go shower."

"They don't scare me." Flat-out lie, but it changed the topic. She washed her hands and sat down at her cold plate of food.

"Not being scared of them doesn't mean you need to be cocky. You know nothing about them; any of them could try to hurt you, especially if you're entering that exam. One less person they would need to compete against. Are you, for that matter? I saw Sakura come home with a registration form." It was scary how similar her thought process was to Sasuke's at that moment.

"Yes, I am."

"You're not just doing it because the boys are, are you?"

"Well… even if I don't make it, it'll give me some valuable training and experience."

Mrs. Haruno turned and looked at the girl, "Have you never heard of the exams?"

"I hadn't before yesterday, no."

"The exams are notorious for their brutality. It's not just a written test, there's a survival portion that has often ended in many genin deaths. Even when you make it through that, there's a tournament afterwards, pitting you one-on-one against your opponents. I told Sakura I wouldn't blame her at all for not wanting to do it; in fact, I really don't want her to…"

Tori pondered these words before coming up with her next answer, "Sure, all that stuff sounds scary, but with the awesome team members I have at my back, Sakura included, I'm sure we'll be fine, even if we don't make chuunin!"

Mrs. Haruno went back to drying plates. "I know you've been training hard, and that Uchiha boy is known for his talent as a shinobi… Can you promise me that you both will keep my little Sakura safe if she decides to enter?"

Tori wanted to argue on Sakura's behalf, but when it came to appeasing her mom, she knew it was better to just say what she wanted to hear, "Yes, ma'am."

She finished up her dinner and helped with the dishes before going upstairs to shower. Her form of resistance to Sasuke's little stunt he'd pulled the night before came as her dumping her dirty clothes from another pocket in her backpack into her hamper in her room. Eventually, all her clothes would make it back here, she knew it. Though her jumpsuit would need to come with her; she'd wash that at Sasuke's house.

She showered, packed her suit into the dirty clothes pocket of her backpack and put on the clean clothes she'd brought back with her.

She waited until it was about bedtime, and headed out the window.

() () () () () () () ()

_**The next day…**_

Sakura was still quiet the next morning, not even greeting Sasuke as he walked up.

He and Tori had been alternating routes so that they didn't arrive together. Usually one of them was there before Sakura.

After another fifteen minutes of silence, not counting the mental conversation going on between Tori and Sasuke, Naruto came running up.

"Good morning Sakura! Good morning Tori!"

"Hey, Naruto," Tori yawned.

"Oh… yeah… good morning…" came Sakura's response.

'_She's still acting weird today… this isn't good,'_ Sasuke noted.

'_Yeah… I wonder if it's got anything to do with what you said to her a few days ago.'_

'_What'd I say to her?'_

'_That she needed to train more, she was worse than Naruto, etc…'_

'_Well it was true.'_

'_You still made her feel like shit, publicly, too.'_

'_I was in a bad mood and she set me off.'_

'_She's still your teammate.'_

'_Why do I have to baby everything up to tell her what she needs to fix?'_

'_Because we're four different people, we all need to work together and adapt to each other, and that includes sugar-coating your criticisms towards her.'_

'_Why can't she be like Naruto? Every time I humiliate him, he just works even harder.'_

'_Because she just isn't and we've gotta deal with it. It's a minor inconvenience compared to what we could be dealing with… namely Ino.'_

'…_This is very true.'_

'_So can you do something to cheer her up?'_

'…_sensei?'_

Tori accidentally made an audible sigh, drawing Sakura and Naruto's attention for a second before waving them off.

'_Yes… sensei.'_

'_I'll come up with something, then.'_

'_Thank you.'_

The four headed over to the school house, opening the door and going inside.

Upstairs, they found a large cluster of ninja from different villages gathered in front of a door with a sign labeled 301 above it. A commotion near the front was drawing the crowd's attention.

'_Wait… this isn't right…'_ noted Tori, _'We're not on the third floor yet.'_

'_Don't say anything, I wanna see how this plays out,'_ Sasuke ordered.

A boy with a strange haircut in a green jumpsuit was knocked backward by the two ninja standing in front of the door, barring the way. A girl with her hair tied in two buns tried soon after, only to also be hit hard, staggering backwards.

"Take this as us being merciful," announced one of the two guarding the door, "This exam isn't easy, even we have failed it three times in a row. We've seen all kinds… those that quit being shinobi over this, those that die during the actual exam…"

'_Mrs. Haruno wasn't kidding… wow.'_

"Chuunin often become captains of military teams. The failure of the mission, a comrade's death… all the captain's responsibility. You brats really think you have what it takes to pass?"

The other spoke up, "We're just thinning out the ones that would fail this anyways."

'_I've had enough,'_ came Sasuke's voice. He made his way through the crowd. Tori, Sakura, and Naruto followed.

"Yeah, that's all well and good," he spoke up to the two at the front, "But you're gonna let me pass through… and drop this genjutsu aura you've built up. I'm going to the third floor."

Confused conversation broke out in the crowd.

"So you noticed…" The pair regarded Sasuke with a look of respect.

"Sakura noticed first… isn't that right?" Sasuke looked in her direction.

'_You owe me big for this…'_

"Huh?" Sakura was looking at Sasuke with wide eyes.

"Your analytical ability and genjutsu knowledge is among the best on our team, after all."

Like an air freshener, the scent changed almost instantly. Sakura's depression melted away into her usual cheery self.

"Of course I did, a while ago," she said, looking squarely at the two, "Because we're only on the second floor."

"Not bad… not bad…" said one of them, before he charged at Sasuke, swinging his leg, "But all you did was see through it!"

Tori saw Sasuke raise his foot to block the kick and flexed her hand muscles, ready to jump in, but a green figure was between the two in a flash, grabbing each guy's foot in his hands and stopping them in their tracks.

'_What is… this? That's the guy that was getting kicked around before?'_ Tori was impressed.

The boy dropped them quickly, straightening up.

'_Chakra in his arms… this guy's… different,'_ noted Sasuke.

"The hell? You're the one who told us not to draw attention to ourselves," came another voice, belonging to a boy in a white vest with long, black hair approaching the boy in green. Tori immediately noticed his eyes were the same as Hinata's. Strange, indeed…

"I know, but…" The latter looked at Sakura, and Tori noticed his bruises and scuffs were melting away.

'_He's healing himself?'_

"Oh, no…" the girl with the buns groaned audibly.

The boy marched up to Sakura, "Hi! I'm Rock Lee, your name is Sakura?"

"Um…" Sakura seemed hesitant to respond. The boy continued.

"Let's go out! I'll protect you with my life!" He gave her a thumbs-up and winked dramatically.

Tori couldn't keep the look of shock off her face. His forwardness was incredibly impressive, but the ridiculousness of it all made her want to bust out laughing.

"Um… no way… you're incredibly lame," came Sakura's response. The boy slumped in rejection, and Tori honestly felt bad for him. Naruto snickered, clearly unhappy the guy had put the moves on Sakura.

"You…" The boy with Hinata's eyes approached Sasuke, "What's your name?"

"If you really want someone's name, it's common courtesy to give yours first, you know," Sasuke responded coldly.

"Aren't you a rookie? How old are you?" the other continued, unperturbed at Sasuke's answer.

"I don't have to answer…" Sasuke turned and walked away.

'_Come on, stay near me,'_ he ordered.

'_What's with the bossy tone?'_

'_There's a bunch of monsters here, you need to stay close.'_

'_I'll be fine; you're the one being the center of attention. Didn't you say I should stay away from you?'_

'_Is that Gaara behind you?'_

Tori jumped forward and followed him, looking behind her to find no one she recognized.

'…_You fucking asshole.'_

His amusement was almost tangible.

Sakura skipped ahead happily, grabbing Tori and Sasuke's hands and dragging them down the hallway, "Come on guys, let's go!" Naruto followed along behind, peeved about Sasuke getting all the attention again.

They entered a large room with a balcony a minute or so later, from which a voice called out.

"You, with the dark eyes!"

Though Tori suspected whoever it was was talking to Sasuke, she turned anyways. Her eyes weren't Sasuke's pitch black ones, but they were a dark brown. Besides, she was hardly used to seeing him with normal eyes anymore; most of their time spent together, he had his Sharingan out.

"What?" asked Sasuke as he looked up.

Rock Lee stood on the balcony, looking down at Sasuke, "Will you fight me, right here, right now?"

"Right now?" asked Sasuke.

The boy jumped down, straightening up, "My name is Rock Lee. It is common courtesy to give your own name before asking someone else's right?"

Tori smiled. She liked his attitude, despite his strange appearance.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"I want to fight you," Lee continued, "I want to test my techniques against the genius ninja clan. Also…"

He blushed, looking over at Sakura, and winked again.

"Ewww! Disgusting!" Sakura flipped out, "His hair, those eyebrows… ew, ew, ew!"

"Jeez, dissing the guy to his face, Sakura?" Tori quipped.

"You are an angel…" Lee blew Sakura a kiss.

After another disgusted screech from Sakura, who dropped to the ground to avoid an invisible flying kiss for whatever reason, Sasuke stepped forward, ignoring the antics.

"You challenged me, knowing my name… quite frankly, I think you're a fool."

Lee turned his attention back to Sasuke, growing serious again. Sasuke continued,

"You're about to find out what this name means."

"Wait!" snapped Naruto, "I want to fight him! Gimme 5 minutes and I'll lay him flat!"

"You are not the one I wish to fight, only the Uchiha," Lee stated.

"Dammit! I'm tired of everything being about Sasuke!" Naruto charged.

"Naruto! Stop!" cried Tori.

Naruto swung, his hand quickly getting put into the ground. Instead of stopping, his leg followed through, going for Lee's face. With blurred movement Tori couldn't follow, Lee spun, tripping Naruto and pegging him with his fist, sending the boy tumbling behind him into the wall. Tori ran over to him and slid down next to him.

"Naruto?" she looked him over for bruises. The boy was knocked out, but she checked his vitals, they appeared to be fine.

'_Stop babying him, he'll be ok.'_

'_I'm taking care of my teammate; shut your jealous face.'_

'_Hard to be jealous of someone so weak.'_

'_His persistence is his strength. I won't be surprised when he surpasses you in power because of it.'_

Sasuke's irritation radiated through her head.

After straightening up, Lee resumed his pose, "I'll tell you now… you cannot defeat me. Right now, I am the leaf's strongest genin."

"Sounds like fun… I'll do it," answered Sasuke.

"Sasuke, you can't!" said Sakura, looking up at the clock.

"Shit, she's right, Sasuke," said Tori from across the room, "We need to be at the meeting in 30 minutes. Save your ego trips for later!"

"I'll be done in five," snapped Sasuke, charging forward.

"You fucking retard, if you make us late, I'm kicking your ass!" yelled Tori.

The first round was a blur. All Tori could see were two forms, blue and green, whirling about briefly before she saw Sasuke guard against a big kick incoming from Lee. Despite the guard, Lee plowed right through it with his foot and Sasuke flew across the room.

Her eyes widened. Aside from Kakashi, Zabuza, and Haku, she'd never seen anyone trounce Sasuke so soundly.

Sasuke straightened up, Sharingan out. Sakura gasped, and Tori realized Sakura never knew he had them before.

Sasuke charged forward again, and Tori frowned. Why use the Sharingan? All she could see this guy doing was taijutsu. Did he mean to copy this guy's taijutsu and use it against him? Was that even possible?

Either way, it didn't matter when Lee smashed Sasuke right in the jaw with another kick, sending him flying straight into the air.

Vanishing, Lee appeared right under Sasuke, "Shadow Leaf Dance!"

Lee waved his hand, undoing some bandages from it so they made a long, white trail.

All of a sudden, a pinwheel zipped through the room, pinning the bandage to the wall, the plastic folds spinning lightly.

"That's enough, Lee!" snapped a voice.

Everyone turned to see a giant tortoise across the room with a leaf headband around its neck, looking about as angry as a tortoise can.

Lee's bandage caught and he was yanked from the air, hitting the ground. Tori saw that Sasuke wasn't making a move to stop his fall. She jumped up and moved to catch him, but saw Sakura going for it too and fell back.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura slid under to catch the boy as he fell so his head wouldn't hit the floor.

"How did Sasuke get defeated…?" Naruto answered groggily, sitting up, "What happened while I was out?"

Lee knelt on the floor, trembling before the turtle, "You were… watching…?"

"Yes, you know that technique is forbidden!" the turtle said angrily.

"I'm sorry… I just…"

The turtle gave a ferocious glare, and Lee withered, "But… but I wasn't gonna use the other one!"

Naruto tugged on Tori's sleeve, getting her attention, "That's a turtle, right?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Tori had no idea where this was going.

"Does this mean turtles can be ninja sensei?"

"I don't know… ask Sakura."

As Naruto got up and ran over to do so, the turtle began berating Lee about unveiling special techniques.

'_Come over here… I don't like this.'_

'_You don't like a lot of this today, doesn't mean I gotta follow you around like a lost puppy… and before you try that Gaara trick again, I know he isn't behind me.'_

Sasuke filled her in on the brief description Lee gave him on his taijutsu.

'_Hm, sounds like someone I need to talk to.'_

'_Sounds like you need to get the hell over here.'_

'_No, I wanna talk to these guys.'_

Sasuke's irritation was slowly becoming anger, a dangerous thing. She knew he was peeved about losing so easily to someone so ridiculous, but it didn't mean he had to take it out on her.

"Are you ready to pay for your mistake?" snarled the turtle.

"Yes…" said Lee.

"Then here comes Gai-sensei!" A whirl of smoke on top of the tortoise's shell unveiled… an even larger Lee.

The man had the same haircut, same eyebrows, and was equally ridiculous, if not more so. To add to it, he seemed to be incredibly flamboyant.

"Ah, the epitome of adolescence!"

At his appearance, Sakura freaked out even more, pointing each and every detail out in the process.

"Hey! Stop insulting Gai-sensei!" yelled Lee.

"How the fuck are we supposed to react? There's too many freaks here!" snapped Naruto.

Tori stared at Gai. Why did he sound so familiar? Surely a face or manner of speaking like that would be difficult to forget.

Gai ignored Sakura and Naruto, "Lee!" He gestured as if to tell the boy to come closer.

"Oh! Yes, sensei…" Lee walked up to the jounin, only to go flying with a huge punch to the face.

"YOU FOOL!"

Lee hit the ground, his mouth bleeding, tears forming in his eyes.

"Ouch…" muttered Tori.

"You're… you're…" started Gai.

"Sensei… I…"

"That's enough Lee!" said Gai, grabbing the boy in his arms in a huge, dramatic hug, "You need not say anymore!"

"Sensei!" Lee began bawling.

The look of shock on the faces of Tori's teammates rivaled her own.

Now Sasuke was pissed, _'You're telling me I lost to him…?'_

Tori tried with little luck to hide her amusement. Sasuke rounded on her, _'You __**still**__ wanna talk to them?'_

'_Maybe… I could certainly stand to learn a new type of taijutsu.'_

"You know, that's pretty sweet over there," Naruto said once the shock wore off.

"No! Don't even think about it!" snapped Sakura.

Gai turned to Tori, panning back to Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura after doling out punishment details to Lee. Sakura's massive twitch was unmistakable.

"You kids are Kakashi's right? How's he doing?"

"You know Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sasuke.

"Know him?" Gai chuckled. He disappeared, startling everyone but Lee and the turtle, appearing right behind Tori, putting a hand on her shoulder, making her jump and sending Sasuke's irritation into overdrive.

'_He's faster than Kakashi… no fucking way…'_ Sasuke growled.

"People refer to us as 'The Eternal Rivals.' 50 wins, 49 losses… I'm stronger than he is." He jabbed at himself with his thumb, giving a sparkling smile.

'_Better than Kakashi… you've gotta be fucking kidding me…'_ snarled Sasuke.

"Gai-sensei is incredible!" cheered Lee.

"You… I haven't seen you since you were a little girl," Gai said, looking down at Tori, "You've grown quite a bit." He began steering her back to the other three.

"Wha-?" Tori looked at him in shock.

"I was there the night you got here. You were so cute; clinging to Kakashi's arm like it was the only thing you had left in the world…" Tori's face went bright red. That certainly explained how she knew his voice. She looked over to see her teammates giving her weird looks. "Now look at you, all grown up and ready to take the chuunin exam!"

'_Clinging… to Kakashi's arm…?'_

'_Don't ask… I was eight…'_

Gai reached the group and let Tori go, turning to Sasuke.

"I'm sorry about Lee there," he jabbed his thumb back towards the boy, "I swear on this beautiful face of mine it won't happen again!"

"Uh…" Sasuke wasn't sure how to answer that. Tori's shock wanted to give way to amusement; she found the pair hilarious.

"You kids need to get to the classroom, it'll be starting soon." Gai moved like a blur, flinging a kunai into the pinwheel holding Lee's bandage to the wall.

As Lee wrapped his hand, Tori noticed all the scars, bruises and scrapes on it. That was it; she _had_ to talk to this guy later. There wasn't any time now.

"Good luck, Lee! See all of you later! Tori, do good things and show Kakashi up for me!" Gai disappeared.

Lee finished wrapping his bandage, "I did come here to test my skills… but I lied. The strongest leaf genin is not me… but on my team. I am here to defeat him, and now also you, Sasuke Uchiha. Be prepared during the exam, I wish to fight you again!"

Lee disappeared.

Tori noticed Sasuke's fist trembling, as did Sakura.

'_Hey…'_ Tori started.

"Sasuke-kun…"

"Well…" said Naruto, "Guess the Uchiha clan ain't worth much these days…"

"Naruto!" yelled Sakura.

Sasuke's face grew dangerously dark, "Shut the fuck up…"

Tori looked between the pair, readying her chakra. If she had to tase the two of them to keep them from ripping each other apart, so be it.

"Next time," Sasuke snarled, "I'll beat him."

"Yeah, whatever, you just got your ass kicked."

"Naruto, don't start this now…" groaned Tori.

"You saw his hand too, Tori, and you, Sasuke. That thick-brow trained extremely hard, every day… way more than any of us. That's all it is…"

Sasuke grew silent. Tori felt it; as much as he didn't want to say it out loud, Naruto was right.

Sasuke took a deep breath after a while, looking up.

"Man, this exam is getting more fun by the minute." His cocky look returned, and Tori smiled.

"Yeah!" Naruto said.

"Ready to go guys?" Sasuke moved towards the door.

"Hell yeah!" Tori and Naruto chimed together, following. Sakura smiled too, trailing behind them.

As they stepped out in the hallway, moving to room 301, Kakashi was waiting for them.

"Ah, so Sakura decided to take the exam after all… that makes this both easier and harder."

"What?" asked Sakura.

"Well… the test was designed to be taken by teams of three. Had you not shown up, the structure of tournaments and such could have proceeded as planned… but the fact that you did show up means that the four of you will be more comfortable, as you've all trained as a four-man squad. They'll have to figure out tournament structure when the time comes, most likely with someone being randomly chosen to fight twice. My point is, had two or more of you decided not to take the test, no one would have been able to since it was designed to be taken by teams of three, or in our case, four."

"So you lied when you said it was an individual choice?" asked Sakura.

"If I had told the truth, and two of you didn't want to take it, the other two might have pressured one of you into going."

"So if just two had come…"

"They would be stopped here and not allowed to go further. But… all of you came, and for that, I'm very proud of you. Now go!" Kakashi beamed at them.

"Let's go guys!" cheered Tori as they opened the large doors behind Kakashi, stepping into the room beyond.


	23. Let the Testing Begin!

**SUMMARY:** The written and survival portions of the exam begin! The written portion will be brutal enough, but the survival test in particular is known for resulting in the deaths of many genin. Can Team 7 make it through?

**Konoha Kitty**

**Chapter 23: Let the Testing Begin**

Upon stepping into the room beyond, Team 7 was greeted by the sight of a very large classroom, filled with hundreds of very nasty-looking ninja.

Tori heard quick footsteps as she moved to the outside of Sasuke to see better, and as she came up next to him, a figure pounced on her, hugging her tightly around the neck. Long, blonde hair immediately fell in her face.

"Sasuke-kun! I've missed you so much! It's been so long, the excitement at getting to see you again was killing me!"

The face nuzzled into her shirt happily, giggling.

"Uh…" Tori stood frozen, "Nice to see you again… too… Ino?"

Ino looked up, noticing she wasn't attached to Sasuke, but Tori instead, and leaped off of her.

"Ack! What're you doing standing between me and Sasuke-kun! How dare you?"

'_Man, you make a damn good shield,'_ Sasuke snickered inwardly.

'_She smells like a perfume factory…'_ Tori coughed at the overwhelming odor.

"Good thing Tori was there, you don't deserve to touch him, Ino-pig!" snapped Sakura.

"Oh, look, it's Billboard Brow."

"WHAT'D YOU SAY?" snarled Sakura, who Tori had to restrain from leaping on the girl.

"Man, you guys are taking this stupid test, too?" asked Shikamaru as he walked up. Choji followed, munching on his chips.

"Hi guys! Long time no see!" chirped Tori.

"Hey Tori," Choji mumbled through a mouthful.

"Look who made it!" came another voice through the crowd.

Tori looked to see Kiba, Akamaru on his shoulder, Shino, and none other than Hinata squeeze their way through the bodies.

"HINATA!" Tori cried, running to attach herself to the small girl.

"Hi Tori!" Hinata smiled happily up at her friend through the hug, "How've you been?"

"All right, I guess. These two been treating you ok?"

"Everything's been fine," Hinata smiled.

"Glad to hear it. You ready to turn these losers on their butts?"

Hinata giggled, "Always."

Shino and Kiba seemed a bit unnerved, looking at Hinata like she was a stranger.

"I think there were more words in just that conversation than she's said the whole time we've been training together…" said Kiba. Shino nodded in agreement.

"Apparently, I'm awesome," Tori shrugged. Hinata giggled.

"Keep dreaming," laughed Kiba, "We're gonna show all of you up, isn't that right Akamaru?"

The puppy barked.

"You seem confident," said Sasuke.

"We've trained hard, Sasuke. We won't lose to you."

"You might beat Sasuke, but you won't beat me!" Naruto stepped forward.

"S-sorry, Naruto… Kiba didn't… um… mean it like that…" Hinata looked down shyly.

Naruto looked over at her, causing her to turn away. Tori saw pink forming on her cheeks.

Tori steered her away to talk to her while the boys continued arguing about who was going to come out on top. She pushed past a tall, blonde boy with glasses making his way back to the door.

The girls sat down at a table near the door and conversed in low, quiet voices, catching up on how their teams had been doing. From what it sounded like, Kiba had a nice side under his bossy exterior. Shino was very nice, if a bit quiet. Tori was simply glad they hadn't made Hinata miserable like she thought they would.

She relayed her adventures with her team, leaving out the bits about her and Sasuke, the mermaid, the ligress, Naruto's fox demon… pretty much all the super cool parts.

"Sasuke sounds much nicer than I suspected, too." Hinata looked back at the boys through the crowd.

"What? How so?"

"The way you talk about him, you sound like you care a lot about him. He must not be the cold person I'd always thought of. You used to hate him quite a lot." She smiled, remembering their school days.

"Oh… yeah," Tori scratched her head nervously. Damn… how did anything she say about Sasuke sound remotely like she cared?

"And I'm so glad Naruto's doing well, you're being a good friend to him from the sound of it, too."

"He's definitely different than I thought he'd be… there's way more to him than his stupid-happy exterior."

"I know… um! I mean… um…"

"How do you know?" Tori quipped. Hinata had turned bright red.

"Um, nothing! I don't… I don't know why I said that…"

Tori narrowed her eyes, "Come on, Hinata, that's not fair." She was certainly one to talk… there were lots of things she wasn't telling her friend.

"Y-you have to promise… you won't tell him, ok?"

"Never, on my life," Tori agreed.

"I… I came across Naruto while he was training in the woods. Watching how hard he was working… how much effort he put into every second of his training… it was… fascinating. I… I told myself… I want to work that hard, too… to try that hard… and maybe… maybe someday… I'd be as good as my-"

"Hinata! Tori! Where are you guys?"

'_What did I tell you?'_ snapped Sasuke into Tori's head.

'_Still not caring… I'm catching up with my friend; after this, I might not get to talk to her again for a long time.'_

'_Get your ass back here, people die in crowds like that.'_

'_Again, don't care. I'm a big girl, and can take care of myself, thanks. I'm only coming back because Hinata is.'_

'_I don't care why, just do it.'_

"C-coming!" Hinata hopped up, as did Tori, and they made their way back to the group.

All of a sudden, Naruto's voice exploded across the classroom.

"MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI, AND I WON'T LOSE TO YOU BASTARDS! YOU GOT THAT?"

Tori stopped to put her face in her hand as every ninja in the crowd went silent and turned to face him.

"The hell is wrong with him?" snapped Ino.

"That felt good," the boy grinned, putting his hands behind his head. Hinata smiled at him.

Sakura, however, grabbed him and started yelling at him for drawing attention to them. The tall, spectacled blonde stood by them, his eyes on the crowd.

Soft footsteps reached Tori's ears, quick ones. Someone was moving, fast.

Her eyes scanned the crowd. Sasuke stepped up behind her, having picked up on the noise, too.

Three bodies darted out from three different parts of the crowd. Watching them, Tori saw that they wore camouflage pants, and none of them were Gaara. She jumped back, noticing the three weren't aiming for anyone but the aforementioned blonde.

The two on the sides flung knives at him, making him step back into the wall. The center one, covered in a thick, furry shawl with bandages all over his face leaped forward, swinging where the blonde had been.

Quick on his feet, the blonde dropped the upper half of his body out of the way. Tori noticed a large, silver device on the attacking ninja's arm.

As soon as the punch reached its maximum arc, a piercing pain shot through her head. A noise… a high-pitched noise… screamed through the air. The blonde may have dodged the attack, but his glasses shattered.

Everyone but her was just standing around… how did they not hear this? Scratch that, Akamaru began whining and burrowed his head inside Kiba's coat.

Tori moved behind Sasuke, using him as a shield as she covered her ears, wincing at the pain. Tears formed in her eyes, her stomach grew nauseated.

Sasuke looked at her in alarm.

'_What's wrong?'_

'_Pain… so much… pain…'_

The blonde stumbled onto his knees and vomited. The sound went away, leaving nothing but ringing silence in its wake.

"Kabuto!" Naruto cried. He and Sakura ran over to the hunched figure.

"Pathetic… aren't you like a four-year veteran or something stupid like that?" sneered the bandaged one.

'_Do you need to sit down?'_

'_No… stop looking at me like that… I don't want anyone to know it affected me…'_

She realized the bandaged one had a familiar voice… the one she'd heard after their encounter with Gaara. These three had a tag on Sasuke.

"Put this on your cards," said the tallest one, "The three Hidden Sound ninja… definite future chuunin."

'_Sound…'_ mused Tori, slowly recovering from her nausea and pain, _'…makes sense.'_

'_How so?' _asked Sasuke.

"QUIET DOWN, YOU WORTHLESS BASTARDS!" boomed a voice from the front of the room.

In a giant whirl of smoke, a large man clad in black stood surrounded by about twenty other leaf ninja.

"I'm Ibiki Morino, and I will be your proctor for the first test portion today!" shouted the large man. He raised his hand, pointing at the three sound ninja. "Hidden Sound! Stop screwing around before the exam! Do you want me to fail you right now?"

"Apologies… it's our first time here, we got a bit carried away," replied the bandaged one.

"I'm gonna take this opportunity to make one thing clear!" snapped Morino, "There will be NO fighting without the examiner's permission! Even IF you are given permission, killing your opponent will NOT be tolerated! Those who break these rules will be failed immediately! Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone was silent.

"Good! Now, instead of your current seating arrangements, you will draw a number and sit in that seat assigned to you. Once you're all seated, we will hand out exams."

A few seconds of silence, then…

"A PAPER TEST?" yelped Naruto. Tori winced; her ears were still hurting badly.

They formed a line, grabbed their numbers and sat in their spots.

Tori took a deep breath as she sat down. The nausea and pain had about subsided at this point… she definitely didn't want to fight those guys, ever. She wondered if that machine on the guy's arm would react to a nice electrical surge…

The rules for the test were explained. Each person had 10 points, one per question. If one person on a team lost all their points, the entire team would fail.

If caught cheating… you lost 2 points. Tori frowned. Most tests would immediately fail someone caught cheating. She looked up and saw Naruto and Hinata sitting next to each other.

"You have one hour… BEGIN!"

Tori looked over the test, and her stomach dropped when she realized that she couldn't answer any of the questions. Number 10 only stated that the examiner would give it at 45 minutes into the test.

A test that allowed for someone to get caught cheating…?

'_We're ninja… this test is about how well we can gather information using our skills…' _Sasuke came through.

'_Ah… that… makes sense.'_ Tori felt better.

'_Don't worry, I can't answer any of these either… but y'know… for once… I wish you had this link with Naruto. As long as he gets one question right, we might be ok.'_

'_You and me both… but… we have Hinata. She's sitting next to Naruto. She might help him out.'_

'_We can only hope…'_

She felt a slight flow of power over her link with Sasuke and realized he'd used his Sharingan, probably copying the movements of someone writing an answer down.

She smirked to herself. Clever… now if she could just find a way to get a couple answers for herself so she wasn't leaning on him to tell her what he came up with.

She allowed the ligress to help her with eyesight. She stretched casually, yawning and squinting one eye slightly open, looking at the paper of someone writing an answer down way across the way, too far for normal human vision to read. If the examiners thought she was cheating for this, they were crazy… and wouldn't be able to prove it with a normal vision test. Her eye focused on the paper, zooming in for a split second.

'_Got it… question 1 done.'_

A mirror on the ceiling caught her eye while she was stretching. It was being pulled down. She couldn't see anything from her angle at the moment, but when the mirror came back up, it was pointed at the middle portion of someone's test… a portion with two answers on it. Staring ahead blankly, looking like she was thinking, she let her eyes slide up to the mirror, zooming in on the image.

Questions 5 and 6 knocked out.

'_How're you doing?'_ came Sasuke over the line.

'_Not bad, yourself?'_

'_I got questions 2, 3 and 5 so far.'_

'_I got 1, 5, and 6.'_

'_I'm sure you know how I'm doing it by now, what's your secret?'_

'_Cat vision.'_

They swapped answers, comparing what they got for number 5, which matched up, so was most likely correct.

Tori managed to grab one more answer before deciding to just go the safe route and let the Sharingan finish up her test.

Finally, after filling in the other answers, the clock struck forty-five minutes in. Morino stepped up.

"All right, before I give out the tenth question… there are some added rules you need to know."

Tori looked up.

"First rule… is that you must decide whether or not you will take the question."

Hmm… this question was worth one out of the ten-point total. For some people who couldn't get any answers written down, this was worth it all for them. Tori looked over at Naruto. For those like Sakura… she might not need to take the question.

"Now the next bit… I know there are questions… If you decide _not_ to take this question, you will automatically fail, and your whole team will be asked to leave."

Tori frowned. Of course, no brainer there, right? Everyone should take the question.

"Now for rule number two… While it's true that if you refuse the question, you will fail and have to come back next year to try the exam again… but…"

Tori narrowed her eyes.

"If…" Morino continued, "You choose to take the question, and get it wrong… you will be forbidden from ever taking another chuunin exam."

Tori's heart dropped into her stomach.

"What?" yelled Kiba, "That can't be allowed! There are tons of genin here who've attempted this test multiple times!"

"Well too damn bad. You guys lucked out this year, getting me; my test, my rules. Refuse the question, and you can try again next year when someone else will be doing it, not my problem."

A silence fell over the room, obviously all the ninja trying to decide whether or not to risk everything on this question.

Tori kept her thoughts to herself as she pondered this. She knew the smart choice; refusing the question would guarantee she could at least try again. At the same time though… she didn't want her team to be angry at her for being the reason they failed.

She looked down at her paper. When she first came to the village, Sakura was her only friend. Her only goal at that time was to make jounin and get out of here.

She smiled softly as she looked back on the various missions and trips Team 7 had taken together, so many memories. Everyone in the village knew her now.

She could be selfish and guarantee her own future, and all of theirs, really, or she could take the risk and let them try… if they so chose to.

If it meant her being a genin forever… she could live with that. She'd miss Kurama… Yusuke… Hiei… Kuwabara… Botan… but in a way, she had a new family here, amongst the Hidden Leaf ninja.

She nodded inwardly; she wouldn't be the one backing out.

"Now, let's begin. Those who do not wish to take it, raise your hand. Once your number is confirmed, you and your team will be asked to leave."

Slowly, one by one, people raised their hands. Their teammates were confirmed and sent out of the room with them.

She looked around. None of the other three were raising their hands.

One more set of people left… and then Tori saw it.

Naruto's hand was coming up, slowly and shakily.

She was dumbstruck; how could the cockiest member of their team be the first one to lose his confidence?

'_What…?'_ Apparently Sasuke was equally shocked.

A loud smack deterred her next string of thoughts as Naruto's hand came down on the desk.

"Don't underestimate me!" he declared loudly, "I will not run! Even if I'm a genin forever, someday I'll be Hokage anyways! I'm not afraid!"

'_Heh… didn't even think about the rest of us at all… Especially you…'_ said Sasuke.

'_I don't care… I thought about failing us for my own sake, too… but… I couldn't be the one to deter you guys from trying.'_

'_You realize you'll be stuck here forever if you can never reach the jounin level?'_

Tori turned her head directly towards him, giving him a small but warm smile, the first public indication she'd ever given of any feelings for him. The look of surprise on his face was unmistakable.

'…_I don't care if I am… not anymore…'_

The surprise turned into shock.

Tori turned her head back to the front.

"You know your life is riding on this, right?" asked Morino, "I'll give you all one last chance to quit."

"I follow my words; that's my ninja way!" Naruto declared.

Tori smiled. Whatever happened from here on out, she'd go with the flow.

Morino looked around at the rest of the examiners, then back to the testers.

"Hm… good decisions. Now, for those of you still remaining…"

Tori took a deep breath. Here it comes…

"Congratulations on passing the first exam!"

She almost hit the floor. They made it.

"No… tenth question?" asked Sakura.

"Those two choices _were_ the tenth question."

"So what about the other nine? Were they pointless?" asked the blonde girl on Gaara's team.

"Absolutely not; their purpose was to eliminate those who could not successfully gather information undetected."

'_Ha… nailed it.'_

Tori rolled her eyes inwardly.

"Those who cheated poorly, failed… because…" Morino removed his large, black bandana covering his head.

Tori nearly hurled when she saw what was under there.

Screw holes, burn marks, scars… this guy had suffered through some pretty serious torture sessions.

"…In times, information is more important than life. On missions and the battlefield, people risk their own lives to get it. If you're caught snooping by the enemy… the info you gather might not be accurate. This test eliminated those who didn't have such a skillset."

The blonde girl spoke up again, "But… I don't get the final question…"

Morino snickered, "This last question tested your ability to risk it all… to take a leap of faith. If you're a chuunin in charge of a squad whose mission is to steal a secret document in a location with unknown layout, unknown enemy numbers, unknown if there are traps set or not… can you refuse it simply because you're worried about your comrades' safety, or your own life? The answer is no. Courage is what we wanted, fearless leaders… those who could be successful chuunin captains."

'_Naruto is that fearless… but he's also an idiot…'_ mused Sasuke.

Tori smiled inwardly, _'He's our idiot.'_

'_Yeah…'_

A loud crash at the window ended the speech abruptly. Tori reached for her bag to pull out a kunai, until out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Morino wasn't alarmed. She relaxed, watching as several kunai attached themselves to the wall, ceiling and floor, fanning out a big black banner and a woman.

"All right, no time to celebrate!" she snapped, "I'm your proctor for the second exam, Anko Mitarashi; let's get a move on, NOW! Follow me!"

She seemed to stop as she scanned the room.

"…79? 79! Morino! You left 26 teams! What the fuck is this garbage? Your test was way too easy!"

"There were lots of… outstanding ones… this year, Anko."

"Yeah… whatever, I'll cut them down by at least half. Hmm…" A sinister smile crossed her face, "I'm getting pretty excited now… Ok kids, I'll explain everything when we get there, follow me."

Tori got up, stretching, and followed everyone out the door.

The group walked a ways away from the main body of the village, stopping in front of a forest full of massive trees.

"Welcome to the second exam area, Practice Arena 44, also known as the Forest of Death!"

Everyone looked up at it. Tori felt Sakura shake a little next to her.

"It looks… creepy…"

Anko smiled, "You'll soon find out why it's called that, I'm sure. Anyway, before we get started, I gotta pass out these forms."

"Forms?" asked Naruto.

"It's unavoidable… people ARE going to die during this test," Anko said, a cheery smile on her face, "And if you don't sign these, it's all my fault! Let me explain the test, then sign these and head on over to that booth there."

About a half an hour later, Team 7 stood at gate number twelve, looking beyond into the trees. What Tori gleaned from the explanation was… between them and their goal, this tower in the middle of the compound, was ten kilometers of purely dangerous forest, not to mention the other shinobi they were competing against. Half the teams got a brown "Earth" scroll, while the other half got the white "Heaven" scroll. To pass, their team had to make it to the tower within five days with both scrolls.

If a teammate died or got lost, they were disqualified, if they opened the scrolls they were given, they were disqualified, and there was no giving up in the middle of it. Tori also heard the terms "man-eating beasts, poisonous insects, and poisonous plants."

She shuddered a bit, but she realized it wasn't from fear. The ligress was awake, truly awake. It looked at that forest and saw its home. She felt tension in her mind as the cat tried to push to the surface.

"I won't lose! Anyone who gets near us, I'll kick their ass!" yelled Naruto.

'_Or I'll kill them… accidentally…'_ Tori mused, fighting the cat down. Sasuke looked at her.

"The second test of the Chuunin Exam… begins NOW!" yelled Anko.

The gate flew open, and Team 7 rushed in.

"YEAH! LET'S GO!" cried Naruto.

They charged through the trees, the ligress fighting Tori more and more. She wanted to be free; she wanted to hunt, to kill…

Within five minutes, a terrified screech sounded through the trees near the forest's edge.

"Already, huh?" said Sasuke.

"That was… a human scream, right?" asked Sakura, "Man… this place makes me nervous…"

Tori put a hand on her shoulder, having come to a standstill bringing the cat under control.

"It'll be ok, Sakura. You've got us here; nothing's gonna happen to you."

Sakura smiled nervously at her and nodded.

"Agh…" Naruto squirmed, "Man, I gotta take a piss…"

He ran over to a tree and stopped, looking like he was messing with his pants.

"NOT IN FRONT OF A LADY, ASSHOLE!" Sakura pounded the boy on the head, "DO THAT IN THE BUSHES!"

"Sakura!" Tori hissed, "Can you not be so loud? There are people out there that are going to be specifically targeting us."

Sakura covered her mouth and glared at Naruto, "No thanks to him…"

"And no thanks to Sasuke's need to show off." Tori looked at him pointedly.

"It's not Sasuke's fault!" Sakura hissed.

Naruto wandered behind the tree. Tori looked out in the forest, watching for any figures moving in the branches. She hated that they were out in the open; she wanted to get higher and move to cover.

Naruto came wandering back, talking loudly about how much came out, earning Sakura's rage again… but something was off… Tori sniffed lightly.

'_Different?'_ Sasuke asked. He was eyeballing Naruto's clothing.

'_Definitely different.'_

Sasuke leaped forward, smashing his fist over Naruto's head, drawing blood.

"Um… wow… Sasuke… that was a bit far…" Sakura started. Tori jumped in front of her, kunai drawn, "Tori?"

"Where's the real Naruto?" Sasuke snapped at the figure on the ground.

"What… are you talking about?" The boy wiped his face.

"You're a terrible copier. Your pouch is on the wrong side, Naruto is right-handed. If you're going to imitate someone, do it right," Sasuke said. Tori was relieved he hadn't brought up that she'd sniffed him out, too.

Finally, the impostor gave up, unveiling himself, "Fine then, you figured me out! Which one of you has the scroll?"

No one moved. Tori felt the cat fighting her again, pushing at the edges of her mind.

"Fine! I'll take it by force, then! Two girls shouldn't be much of an issue!" The ninja raced towards Tori and Sakura. Tori heard Sasuke's next move in his mind, pushing Sakura back as Sasuke made hand signs, emitting a massive fireball in the attacker's direction.

The ninja leapt up into the trees, Sasuke giving chase.

'_I'll find Naruto, you worry about that guy!'_ Tori sent his way before leaping off in the direction Naruto went, dragging Sakura with her to maintain numbers and not leave the girl alone, which could be detrimental considering her fear she'd expressed at being part of this.

She heard the Sasuke and the other ninja chasing each other around in the trees as she and Sakura leapt over large roots, following Naruto's scent. She quickly found him, almost tripping over him as she jumped a particularly large root.

"Tori! Sakura!" cried Naruto.

"The hell, Naruto? Making us come get you," Tori stuck her tongue out at him as she cut his ropes with a knife. Naruto grinned as Sakura began ranting at him for his stupidity.

The fighters flew overhead, silencing the three below.

"Let's go, we gotta help Sasuke catch that guy!" called Tori.

A small explosion sounded, following by a loud grunt as Sasuke hit the ground.

Tori ran through the trees towards the noise, Sakura and Naruto in tow. Sasuke was on the ground, straightening up as the ninja appeared behind him, a kunai at his neck, "Hand over the scroll!" he demanded.

"Don't follow me!" Tori ordered the other two quickly, "What I'm about to do might endanger you if you're too close!"

"What? What're you-" started Naruto.

"Just trust me!" Tori charged forward, pushing her chakra to the surface, sending electricity arcing around her body. Hopefully Naruto understood now; if he and Sakura were nearby, her chakra would've jumped to them and electrocuted them.

The ninja turned to see a ball of lightning hurtling towards him and leapt up into the trees to get away. Tori used her chakra and began running up the tree to intercept him.

Naruto came up behind and threw a kunai at the ninja, missing. His poor aim assisted Sasuke though; out of the corner of her eye, Tori saw Sasuke grab the kunai with chakra in his foot, flinging it towards the attacker and leaping after it, driving it into his left arm… crazy impressive.

"Don't just stand around!" yelled Sasuke after Sakura, who hung back in the trees, "There may be more; relax for a second, and you will die!"

The ninja pushed out of the lock Sasuke had on him, leaping back into the trees. As Tori attempted to give chase, Sasuke came into her head.

'_Stop. We can't get separated. If you go after him alone, he'll lead you back to his team and they'll take you out. Come back here.'_

Growling in frustration, more due to the ligress than the actual situation, Tori stopped and turned back, jumping down where the other three had gathered. She decided she'd be obedient just this one time… only because it was indeed a smart plan and not based off of his possessive nature. She let her chakra fall back into her to avoid shocking her teammates as she approached them.

"Ok look guys… we need a password in case we get separated," said Sasuke, "It's all too easy for people to disguise themselves as us and try to take the scroll."

'_In case we don't have your nose for some reason…'_ Sasuke noted.

"If asked the nin song, the 'nin machine,' answer with: _'A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi, hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill-prepared.'_"

"Are you crazy? I'll never remember that!" said Naruto.

'_Neither will I…'_ said Tori.

'_You're easy; if I can't mentally communicate with you, then I know it isn't you.'_

'_Good point… especially for the opposite. But how will Naruto and Sakura know it's me if you're not there?'_

'_I'd just better make sure I'm always there.'_

'_Great…'_

"I'll hold the scroll," said Sasuke, straightening up.

"Ow!" yelped Naruto, holding his cheek, where a small cut was forming.

All of a sudden, a massive explosion of wind blew Team 7 off their feet. Tori felt herself lifted bodily from the ground, flying back what had to be a crazy distance. The ligress extended her claws, reaching for anything to grab onto, but there was nothing, just grass, wind, and empty space.

She didn't have time to feel pain when her head collided with the tree she finally slammed into. She tumbled down into the roots and instant darkness.

() () () () () () () () () ()

A strange dream is what Tori opened her eyes to. A large snake faced her down, but it was… her height. She snarled, showing the snake long, dangerous fangs, a promise of what would come if it touched her.

Unafraid, the snake struck. All four of her limbs moved like a spring, sending her out of the way, her claws gripping the side of a root and holding her in place, her two tails balancing her, dancing in the heat of battle. She roared, angry that this creature dare think it could stand toe-to-toe with her. The snake struck again. She leapt upwards, latching onto a tree and clawing her way to the other side, dropping down quickly.

As the snake's massive head came around, hunting her, it became the hunted.

She pounced upward, her front legs reaching around the snake's head to hold its mouth shut as her massive jaws opened, closing down around the snake's neck, her fangs tearing easily into its flesh.

The snake squirmed, trying to grab her in its coils, but to no avail. Tori's teeth dug deeper, sawing through tendon and muscle until they finally hit their mark.

At the severing of its jugular vein, the snake went slack. Tori leapt away, knowing snake heads still retained enough nerves after death for one last bite.

Growling at the easy kill, she took off, flying through the trees, following the scent of fear, which she soon found was mixed with fox… a certain fox she knew all too well.

She moved faster, racing through the trees towards it. A group of three humans stood in the clearing before her, up in the trees above them was a figure, lying in wait.

A quick analysis of the three in the clearing identified a small girl with dark hair and pale eyes…

'_Friend…'_ the word echoed through her mind.

The figure above was a threat to this friend. Snarling, Tori scaled the tree easily, pouncing the figure out of the branches and smashing it to the ground, knocking it unconscious. She debated finishing it off, but decided to let it live, knowing it would hurt to kill… deep down. She turned slowly to the three, who backed up, shaking visibly. She looked at the girl, the friend, whose eyes stared back at her in terror.

Chuffing softly, she turned and leapt into the trees again, making haste towards where the fox should be… but its smell had faded.

Confused, she tested the air. The scent was gone, only fear remained.

She continued toward the latter, clambering through branch after branch, looking for the source.

She stopped as the scent reached a peak, looking across the way. A figure's head was extended towards one of two humans with an abnormally long neck, looking like it was biting it. It pulled its head back. Not a normal person, Tori decided.

The two humans… the boy with black hair, the girl with pink hair…

'_Friend…' _she thought, looking at the girl. Looking at the boy, she couldn't explain what she felt, friend, but more than that…important… very important… and he'd just been hurt.

"What'd you do to Sasuke?" the girl cried.

The offender laughed, "Gave him a present… and I'll give him another one by getting rid of you."

He walked toward the girl, readying a kunai. Tori literally felt her legs explode forward. She soared across the clearing, landing on the branch between the snake-man and the two important people.

Ears back and fangs bared, she snarled furiously. He hurt them, he would pay.

The figure stepped back, and a small amount of fear arose from it… good.

She bounded forward, opening her mouth to catch this abomination in her mouth and tear it to shreds.

It moved too fast, dodging out of the way to another branch across the clearing, hissing angrily that she disrupted its kill.

"Looks like the brat gets to live…" he snapped. Tori leapt forward after him, but he quickly sank into the wood, disappearing from sight. As she landed on the branch, she growled, angry that she let him get away.

A yell of pain startled her. More fear… pain… it permeated the air. She leapt back to the branch as the boy fell to his knees, screaming, an awful sound that awoke something within her.

'_Sasuke…'_

Her eyes registered the scene before her, waking her sleeping mind… she wasn't dreaming!

'_**SASUKE!'**_ she screamed.

She tossed her head as she realized the ligress was in full control.

'_I have to help him! Go away! Let me out!'_ she screamed at the cat.

Sakura was at the boy's side, holding him, watching Tori nervously, especially as she began thrashing, the mental battle for dominance ensuing.

'_No… I can't come out now… not in front of her…'_

She bounded to the ground and ran behind the trees as she strained all of her mental energy into containing the beast.

The ligress snarled, spinning around, enjoying its freedom, not wanting to go back.

'_**IT'S MY HEAD! SASUKE'S IN TROUBLE! FUCKING LET ME OUT!'**_

A cry escaped the cat's throat as Tori used tons of her chakra to make a wall around it, pushing it back and down into the depths of her mind.

She felt her body changing. The fur disappeared; her skeleton reformed into a human, her tails became one and slowly disappeared. She staggered along the forest floor, exhausted. The ligress had used up most of her physical energy with its jaunt, and her mental energy was now gone from containing it. She clambered over the roots, heading towards where Sakura was.

'_Sasuke… I'm sorry… please…' _

She stumbled, using what she had left to pick herself back up and continue,

'_Please… be ok…'_

Her vision grew blacker as she looked up, seeing Naruto's body pinned to a tree up high by his jacket, no doubt the source of the fox scent.

She fell to her knees underneath him, her eyes rolling up in her head as she lost consciousness.

'_Please Sasuke… I love you…'_


End file.
